i inherited this oil painting from my Mom….
she tells me it’s by a California artist, Louise Cuningham, of a typical Santa Cruz scene…
well…. I ain’t been there since 1945 or so…. are you familiar with her….her work…. or the subject ?
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 2/20/2009 11:04 pm ET by MikeSmith
Edited 2/20/2009 11:05 pm ET by MikeSmith
Replies
Nice painting! Not familiar with the artist, but looking at the painting, I would say it has some value. Googling confirms Louise Cunningham is a recognized artist.
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?artist=124016
http://www.rieserfineart.com/sold_cunningham.htm
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Here's a painting of hers that sold for $1100. http://www.edanhughes.com/detail.cfm?ArtworkID=230 My guess is yours is worth more, because of the subject matter - Louise Cunningham was famous more for her California landscapes than her still lifes.
Your painting looks like it could be right out of a John Steinbeck book! (I'm currently reading Obscene to the Extreme: the story of Kern County's banning of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath - interesting period in my local history).
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
great.... i thought you would know something about her if anyone would..
this one is 24 x 19....
i've never seen the area ... but one of my aunts says those are the mountains around Santa Cruz
BTW.... sure hope you're planning on going to Blodgett's weekend of August 9Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
That could be near Santa Cruz, I guess, but the hills above S. Cruz are mostly a little greener, more trees. Beautiful land.
Almost looks like Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton, or maybe Sonoma, or maybe somewhere a little south of S. Cruz. Hard to say though. I don't suppose the back of the canvas has any info?
k
here's a photo entitled "The Gabilan Foothills from San Juan Grade " sure looks a lot like the hills in Mike's painting. Not sure of the area, but assume its Central/Northern California, probably near the coast.
http://www.windyhillpublications.com/images/steinbeck-ranch-hills-50.jpg"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Beautiful.
And your other photo, from SLO, was also great and very similar to Mike's painting. SLO and other areas a little south of S. Cruz seemed more likely to me than the hills of S. Cruz proper. The hills rise up pretty fast from the coast there, and there are a lot of redwoods and other conifers (second growth now).
When I think of Felton, or Boulder Creek, it's not the grasslands and oak woodlands scene.
Wherever it's from, it is gorgeous.
k
I have family in Watsonville. Those pictures and paintings resemble a lot of that area and the area near Gilroy & Hollister and coming down, west, from Pacheco Pass.
Steinbeck's family home was in Watsonville. A beautiful old Victorian. It was about 5 blocks from my mother's and purchased and moved in the last couple of years....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Yeah, exactly. I had a family friend in Salinas for years, and used to take the drive down through those hills. Oak chapparal like those scenes. Beautiful.
k
Have you ever taken the drive to the Lick Observatory? It's on Mt. Hamilton, just SE of San Jose. Small, winding country roads. A real good climb, too. If you have the time someday you would probably enjoy it.
I don't know how much it is used, if any, for research.
It's been years since I've been up that mountain but a nice afternoon's run. You might check to see if it is still open to the public. Flying into San Jose the plane seems to float close enough to almost touch it, sometimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_Observatory
http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/
http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/hamcam/
Sorry for the hijack Mike....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
No, I haven't. Although, Mt. Hamilton was one of my guesses as to the painting.
I've been mountain biking in the sunol-ohlone park NE of S. Jose, What they call "little yosemite". Mt. Hamilton looms large for all of the south bay. I did take my toddler daughter to Mt. Diablo (a little closer to me) for a snow experience a couple months ago...
I'll add the Lick observatory to my list!
k
I moved to the Bay Area in early 1970 and lived in Milpitas, San Jose and Sunnyvale and commuted up the Bayshore to the airport at SFO and also into downtown SF. We lived there for a little over 10 years. BART was new then and the only rail up the peninsula was SP heavy rail San Jose through San Mateo, etc.
Dang, 280 wasn't even finished yet. That's a lifetime ago.
I hear strains of the Mommas & Pappas & California Dreamin' in the background. Time to shut this time machine down. ;0) G'nite. ...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Looking , again, this morning at Mike's painting. It almost resembles Morgan Hill.
Given the artist's home area, her age and when she possibly could have been painting. It is close to her home in the Felton area but on the sheltered side, drier side of the coastal hills.
If it is an actual scene (I imagine it would be, or taken from one)
As you are leaving San Jose and southbound on Hwy. 101 it is to your right/west as you approach the town of Morgan Hill. From that perspective , it will seem to be the highest point in that nearby landscape, before getting into the Santa Cruz Mtns....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home....aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
it's all good stuff...
i was hoping there would be more input from others besides HuckMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
no...nothing we cold find on the back..... but thanks for the inputMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Not Mt. Diablo - it's the view out my back window so I'm pretty familiar with it <grin> - has two peaks, and much taller. Looks more like the coast like you said, or Sonoma, or...
i've never seen the area ... but one of my aunts says those are the mountains around Santa Cruz
California's central coast is some of the most tranquil and picturesque land in the world, methinks. I doubt that view has changed much since the painting was done.
Here's a recent drive-by photo I took in San Louis Obispo county, just minutes from the beach.
View Image
Not sure about the weekend of the 9th - I tend to keep a pretty tight itinerary! Refresh my memory, what is going on and where?"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
here's the thread about the Fest in Washingtonhttp://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=113848.1
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore