Description
Enchanted Isle: A History of Plein Air Painting in Santa Catalina Island
Authors: Barbara Doutt et al. Jean Stern, Roy C. Rose, and Molly Siple
Publication: The Society for the Advancement of Plein Air Painting, 2003
Catalina Island, only 18 miles off the Southern California coast, is a remarkably beautiful and historically important place that has retained its natural rugged beauty, despite its long popularity as a resort. It has, not surprisingly, attracted artists for over a hundred years. The Society for the Advancement of Plein Air Painting, founded in 1996 to support the annual Catalina Show, has published this book chronicling the history of plein air painting on the island, from the 1930’s to the present day. Jean Stern discusses artists who worked there before 1945, providing individual profiles on many prominent California Impressionists. Roy C. Rose has written on artists from 1935 to 1985, and Molly Siple covers contemporary artists and favorite themes and subjects found on the island. Other essays included in this book cover topics such as the painter as conservationist, and the techniques and process of plein air painting, and Jean Stern has written a fascinating history of Santa Catalina Island from prehistoric times to World War II. This is a luxuriously illustrated book that collectors will welcome as a rare chance to learn about painting in a very specific but artistically prolific locality.