Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area

244 Pages·22.846 MB·English

by  Steven A. Nash (editor)

SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC LIBRARIES
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Nash, Steven A., 1944-
Facing Eden : 100 years
of landscape art in the
' 1995.
SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC LIBRARY
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA 95060

FACING EDEN
roo Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area
Steven A. Nash
with contributions by
Bill Berkson, Nancy Boas, Michael R. Corbett, Patricia Junker,
Constance Lewallen, Ellen Manchester, and Marc Simpson
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
University of California Press Berkeley Los Angeles London
SANTA CRUZ PUBLIC LIBRARY
Santa Cruz, Califorma
This book has been published in conjunction with the exhibition
Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
25 June - 10 September 1995
The exhibition and catalogue are made possible by support from the
National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency, and the Ednah Root
Foundation. Additional funding is provided by ust Capital; Alex. Brown &
Sons Incorporated; LEF Foundation; McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen;
William A. Hewitt; Lorna F. Meyer; The Haley Trust; and Mr. and Mrs.
Melvin B. Lane. The catalogue is published with the assistance of The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment for Publications.
Copyright © 1995 by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
First published in 1995 by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Distributed by the University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles,
and London.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means, including photocopy, recording, or any
other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nash, Steven A., 1944 -
Facing Eden: 100 years of landscape art in the Bay Area / Steven A. Nash,
with contributions by Bill Berkson. . . [et al.].
p. cm.
“The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco / University of California Press.”
Catalog of an exhibition of the same name held at The Fine Arts Museums.
Includes index.
1. Landscape painting, American — California-San Francisco Bay Area -
Exhibitions. 2. Landscape painting —- 19th century — California — San Fran-
cisco Bay Area - Exhibitions. 3. Landscape painting — 20th century — Cali-
fornia - San Francisco Bay Area - Exhibitions. 4. Art, American — Exhibi-
tions. 5. Art, Modern — 19th century — California —- San Francisco Bay Area -
Exhibitions. 6. Art, Modern - 20th century - California —- San Francisco Bay
Area — Exhibitions. 7. Landscape in art - Exhibitions. 8. San Francisco Bay
Area in art —- Exhibitions. I. Berkson, Bill. I. Fine Arts Museums of San
Francisco. III. Title.
ND1351.5.N29 1995
704.9'4367946 07479761 — dc20 95-11934
CIP
ISBN 0-520-20362-3 (cloth)
0-520-20363-1 (paper)
Front cover
Richard Diebenkorn, Seawall (detail), 1957, collection Phyllis Diebenkorn,
cat.no.40
Back cover
John Gutmann, Yes, Columbus, Mission District, San Francisco, ca.1938,
courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, cat.no.69
Title page
Charles Stafford Duncan, The Dark Hills of Saratoga, ca.1929,
private collection, cat.no. 44
Printed and bound in Hong Kong
Contents
Horeword Harry S. Parker II
vi
Acknowledgments
ix
Lenders to the Exhibition
XI
Introduction Steven A. Nash
Xill
Rearranging the Environment:
The Making of a California Landscape 1870s to 1990s
Michael R. Corbett
3
Pastoral Visions at Continent’s End:
Paintings of the Bay Area 1890 to 1930
Nancy Boas and Marc Simpson
31
Celebrating Possibilities and Confronting Limits:
Painting of the 1930s and1940s
Patricia Junker
61
Nature and Self in Landscape Art of the 1950s and 1960s
Steven A. Nash
89
Metaphor, Matter, Canvas, Stage: Conceptual Art 1968 to 1995
Constance Lewallen
115
Changes like the Weather: Painting and Sculpture since 1970
Bill Berkson
139
Seeking Place: Photographic Reflections
on the Landscape of the Bay Area
Ellen Manchester
163
Works in the Exhibition, 186
Index, 212

Foreword
There is no aspect of life in the Bay Area that affects To the many lenders to the exhibition, we extend a
one’s identification with place more than the landscape. special expression of gratitude. Our project would not
The natural and wild blended with the cultural and have been possible without their generous consent to
manufactured are visible throughout the region and part with treasured objects and share them with our
provide a constant source of wonder, pride, and delight. museum audience.
Responding to this remarkable environment, artists Many other individuals also contributed importantly
and landscape architects over the past one hundred to the success of this complex undertaking. An accom-
years have produced a rich body of work, revealing panying list of acknowledgments gives credit to those
the many personal and collective meanings the land- whose help was most vital. A few members of the
scape inspires. Their art is a reflection of society’s Museums’ staff must be singled out, however, for
constantly changing attitudes toward the land and its special recognition. Kathe Hodgson, Exhibitions Coor-
use. From William Keith, Bernard Maybeck, Childe dinator, supervised many of the logistics of exhibition
Hassam, and Frederick Law Olmsted to Diego Rivera administration; Karen Kevorkian, Editor of the Muse-
and Ansel Adams, then on to the more recent era of ums’ Publications Department, copyedited the cata-
Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, Christo, and logue and managed the myriad details of its production;
Lawrence Halprin, the Bay Area tradition of creative Kelly Purcell, Exhibition Assistant, was indispensible
interaction with the environment is one that few other to historical research, compilation of photographs,
regions of the country, if any, can match. and manuscript preparation; Rob Krulak, 1994-95 NEA
Facing Eden: 100 Years of Landscape Art in the Bay Area Intern, American Paintings, also assisted with research;
traces this distinguished tradition. It is particularly Bill White, Exhibitions Designer, oversaw the exhibi-
appropriate that the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum tion installation; Therese Chen and Pam Pack of the
presents so ambitious a survey. The de Young Museum, Registration Department managed the assemblage of
now part of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, loans; Ron Rick, Chief Designer, provided the exhibi-
was founded one hundred years ago in Golden Gate tion graphics; Vas Prahbu, Director of Education, and
Park, one of the truly splendid elements of the region’s Jean Chaitin, Coordinator of Public Programs, orga-
landscape and an example of landscape design at its nized the ambitious program of educational activities
best. From the outset, the museum’s collections fea- connected with the exhibition; Carl Grimm, Head
tured American painting with a strong component of Paintings Conservator, and others on the conservation
western landscapes, a strength gradually built on over staff, including Tricia O’Regan, Assistant, and Carrie
subsequent years. Thomas, Getty Advanced Intern, worked skillfully to
A great deal of new research has gone into the exhibi- return many of the works in the exhibition to more
tion and this accompanying volume, celebrating both presentable conditions; Elisabeth Cornu, Objects
nature and art while also examining important issues Conservator, and Robert Futernick and Debra Evans,
that shape the environment around us, both current Paper Conservators, helped with conservation and
and future. Under the general guidance of Steven Nash, installation matters; Paula March, Manager, Corporate
Associate Director and Chief Curator of The Fine Arts Relations, and Debbie Small, Development Associate,
Museums of San Francisco, a team of seven other con- both worked on raising funds for the exhibition; Joseph
tributing curators delved into different aspects of land- McDonald, Photographer, provided much handsome
scape art, which they broadly defined to include not just new photography for the catalogue; Jane Glover, Sec-
painting, graphics, and photography, but also concep- retary, American Art Department and the American
tual and site-specific art, video, landscape architecture, Art Study Center, and Suzy Peterson, Secretary to the
and even urban planning. We are greatly indebted to Bill Chief Curator, in addition to assisting with the prepara-
Berkson, Nancy Boas, Michael Corbett, Patricia Junker, tion of catalogue manuscripts helped in innumerable
Constance Lewallen, Ellen Manchester, and Marc Simp- ways; Jack Stauffacher, well-known book designer,
son for the spirit of inquiry and the energetic research contributed his considerable talents; and Deborah
they brought to the subject. The chapters that each pre- Kirshman, Editor, University of California Press,
pared for this book represent a lasting contribution to worked with Ann Karlstrom, our Director of Publica-
scholarship on Bay Area art. The objects they located tions and Graphic Design, to make the copublication
and assembled niake for an exhibition exciting in its of the book accompanying the exhibition a mutually
visual experiences and juxtapositions. Never before has rewarding venture. The highly professional standards
such a comprehensive, multidisciplinary examination of all these individuals were clearly apparent through-
been aimed at this key aspect of the region’s art history. out the project. 3
vii
Of course, the exhibition would not have been possi-
ble without the generous financial support of several
sponsors. For their underwriting and the confidence
they showed in our proposals, we are most grateful to
the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency,
and the Ednah Root Foundation. Additional funding is
provided by usL Capital; Alex. Brown & Sons Incorpo-
rated; LEF Foundation; McCutchen, Doyle, Brown &
Enersen; William A. Hewitt; Lorna F. Meyer, The Haley
Trust; and Mr. and Mrs. Melvin B. Lane.The catalogue
was published with the assistance of The Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation Endowment for Publications.
It is to the artists represented in the exhibition that
we are most indebted. They help open our eyes to the
landscape and reveal its many glories and mysteries.
Harry S. Parker 111
Director of Museums
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
vill