Synopses & Reviews
With a handful of wealthy Gold Rush barons as indulgent patrons, an active community of artists appeared in nineteenth-century San Francisco almost overnight. A subculture of artistic brilliance and social experimentation was the result--in essence, a decades-long revelry that finally ended with the 1906 earthquake. Witness Jules Tavernier, hungry and in debt, accepting a stuffed peacock and two old dueling pistols in payment for a Yosemite landscape; Mark Twain as reluctant art critic; Oscar Wilde outdrinking his hosts at the Bohemian Club, declaring he had never before seen "so many well-dressed, well-fed, business-like looking Bohemians." Prolific production of some of America's greatest paintings developed into a distinctly California style. Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, and William Keith were among the many artists who documented Yosemite Valley and the state's other natural wonders. Grace Hudson's paintings are still considered some of the finest records of Native American culture.
Review
Artful Players is an engaging account of the rise of culture and the arts in America's great frontier city by the Bay. It accomplishes what so few standard histories bring to their subjects; that is to breathe life into what was, after all, a great adventure. I recommend it." Paul J. Karlstrom, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Synopsis
Chronicles a subculture of artistic brilliance and social experimentation with stories of Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and Grace Hudson, among others.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-248) and index.
About the Author
Birgitta Hjalmarson covered the San Francisco art beat as a contributing editor for New York based Art and Auction from 1983 to 1989. Her work has also appeared in Antiques, Southwest Art, and Antiques West.