Bill Hager Art

Understated town-scape in grays and muted blues. It's a painting that looks better as you get closer to it. Koch brings the same serene intimacy to an outdoor scene as his interiors....

“Eastern White Pines, c. 1910” by Charles Warren Eaton (American, 1857-1937). A wonderful example of Eaton’s renowned compositions of Eastern white pine trees in his mature style. A...

Original Antique Western Nevada Desert Oil Landscape by Phoebe K. Higgins A mid-century desert oil landscape of Western Nevada by Phoebe K. Higgins (American, 1895 - c 1960), circa ...

Arctic Stream in Forest Landscape with Lush Greens & Blues by 20th Century British Artist, Jack Strickland Art measures 16 x 20 inches Frame measure...

Jessie Agnes Schley (American, 1854-1928) was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Charles Schley, a prominent Milwaukee real estate agent. A devout Catholic, Schley tried twice to bec...

Robert Hamblen (American, 1932-2017) Untitled, c. 20th century Oil on board 12 x 15 3/4 in. Framed: 16 x 19 3/4 x 1 3/4 Signed lower right: Hamblen Rob...

Pilot Boats

American life is captured in this Clyde Singer painting, Snow in the City (1954), where he depicts an everyday moment in the city. An ordinary scene, of a group of women making thei...

Industrial Mural Study, Veterans Memorial Building, Santa Barbara WPA American Joseph Edward Knowles (1907-1980) "Study for Industry Mural, Veterans Memorial Building, Santa Barbara, CA" 19 1/2 x 50 1/2 inches Oil on board, c. 1930s. Estate stamp verso Framed: 27 x 60 inches The completed mural is currently hanging on the wall, part of the building actually, at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Barbara. A photo of the work insitu is included in the attached photos. BIO Joseph Edward Knowles was born in Kendall, Montana, on June 15, 1907. He grew up in San Diego, California. At age twenty, two years before the beginning of the Great Depression, he moved north to another town on the coast of California---Santa Barbara. There he began studying fine art at the Santa Barbara School of the Arts* (1927-1930), under the supervision of Frank Morley Fletcher, previously director of the Edinburgh College of Art. Fletcher, who was trained in portraiture, landscape painting, and woodblock* printing, was a great influence on young Knowles. It was there that Knowles learned the art of color woodblock printmaking, a medium in which he showed great skill. Not long after completing his studies with Fletcher, Knowles began teaching art. For a period of thirty years, from 1930 to1960, he taught at the Cate School in Carpinteria, California. In 1934-1935, Knowles traveled throughout Europe, further developing his artistic skills in England, France, and Italy. Upon his return, he continued to teach art at various schools and institutions: Cate School, Crane Country School, extension classes at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), and at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA). Knowles also served as an art education consultant for the County of Santa Barbara. In addition, he was founding co-director and president of the Santa Barbara Fine Arts Institute (1969-1972), which later developed a specialization in photography and became the Brooks Institute of Photography. Knowles died at his home in Santa Barbara on September 8, 1980. Much of Knowles' watercolor work is associated with what has been termed the "California School*," a loose grouping of artists throughout the state that included such figures as Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, Dong Kingman, George Post, and the Santa Barbara painters Dan Lutz and Standish Backus, Jr. The California School artists, including Knowles, were known for their fresh, direct, spontaneous style of watercolor painting. Knowles and other members of the school found inspiration in nature and the built environment alike, emphasizing elements of design in their exuberant, boldly stated, colorful scenes from everyday life. While painting in a representational* manner, Knowles generally avoided photographic realism, preferring subjective interpretation of his subjects. In this, as well as in his experimental approach and vigorous brushwork, he displayed a strongly modern sensibility. Knowles often used the wet-on-wet watercolor technique as he painted seascapes and landscapes, mostly along the California coast. He also employed dry-brush* techniques in many of his paintings, often leaving some of the white of the watercolor paper exposed. Some of the latter depict trees and other forms in a broken and airy manner that recalls Cezanne. Knowles' colored woodblock prints are more reserved and exact in their draftsmanship than his paintings. Spare, clean, lyrical lines are drawn to illustrate floral motifs and boat scenes with a touch of asymmetry conjuring Japanese woodblock prints. His murals from the post-World War II period are considerably more modern in their approach and show an emphasis on design and color. PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS California Watercolor Society (1940 - 1955) Santa Barbara Art Association (Vice President - 1952) ONE-MAN EXHIBITIONS Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) - San Francisco, California San Diego Fine Arts Gallery (SDMA) - San Diego, California Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) - Santa Barbara, California Cowie Galleries - Los Angeles, California Gallery de Silva - Santa Barbara, California Bradley Galleries - Santa Barbara, California MURALS Westmont College - Ellen Porter Hall Mural - Santa Barbara, California Safeway Grocery (now Vons Grocery on West Victoria Street) - Exterior Tile Mosaic - Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara Bank & Trust - Interior Mosaic Panels, Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara Girls Club - Interior Mosaic Mural - Santa Barbara, California Ernest Righetti High School - Mosaic Mural - Santa Maria, California Shell Oil Company - Mosaic Panel - California Beckman Instruments, Corporate Headquarters - Mosaic - Fullerton, California STAINED GLASS WINDOWS, WALLS and PANELS Katherine Thayer Cate Memorial Chapel - Cate School, Carpinteria, California William S. Porter Memorial Chapel - Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, California La Rinconada Building - Santa Barbara, California ILLUSTRATIONS "California's Wonderful Corner: True Stories for Children from the History of the Santa Barbara Region," by Walter A. Tompkins (1962 & 1975) China Designs: Two sets of dinnerware for Winfield China...

"Study for Long Beach" WPA Mid 20th Century American Scene Social Realism Modernism Ashcan Daniel Ralph Celantano (1902-1980) "Study for Long Beach" 8 x 10 inches Oil on artist bo...

This classic Post cover combines the vastness of the American West landscape with the intimacy of iconic Americana: two kids swimming in a rura...

Cover of The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1957 showing ducks in autumn flying south for the winter The Post described, "When Jack Frost whistles down the breezeways, right-minded birds take off toward the balmy Southland. Some human beings are depressed because they haven't wings to do likewise, yet, all told, it's probably nicer to be a man than, say, a mallard duck. This is a migratory flyway in the lakelands of Alberta, favored by birds of that feather which like to swipe their meals from grainfields and rest their weary bones on soft, or even hard, water. Down the Mississippi Valley this sky traffic will v-wint its way, and the smarter ducks that go clear to the Gulf Coast can take a gander at the New Orleans Mardi Gras...

A boy with his two dogs stumbles upon a wounded man resting under a tree in the woods. The boy cautiously approaches the man, unsure whether he's a criminal or just a decent man who...

Frederick Hamilton Daniels (American, 1872-1966) Signed: F.H. Daniels, 1935, (lower, left) " Knowles Memorial Chapel, Winter Park, Florida ", 1935 Oil on canvas laid on board 8" ...

"Parade" Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern American Scene WPA Regionalism Gerrit Van Sinclair (1890 – 1955) Parade 20 x 15 inches Oil on board, c. 1940s Signed lower right Fram...