Author Description

This publication is produced in conjunction with the exhibition Robert Henri's California Realism, Race, and Region, 1914-1925 presented by the Laguna Art Museum. The exhibition and this 130-page hardcover book constitute the first examination of the years the legendary American artist spent in California. The authors of this lavishly illustrated book are Derrick Cartwright, who organized the exhibition, a distinguished scholar of American art, and the Henri authority Valerie Leeds. Their essays challenge prevailing accounts of Henri's career, looking carefully at his motivations for working in Southern California while comparing this specific output to his broader oeuvre. The authors' close analysis of how Henri's painting changed as a result of his California travels reveals the lasting impact of this experience. This publication is enhanced by rare documentation, including selections from Henri's own illustrated correspondence, photographic snapshots of his time in the region, and other period texts. This publication represents a unique opportunity to assess an acknowledged master of modern American art in new terms and with important insights into his legacy for California art history. Robert Henri made his first plans to visit California a century ago. "Westward Ho!" he exclaimed in 1914 in a letter to his former student, Alice Klauber, who lived in San Diego. Henri's eagerness was rooted in his quest for new settings and fresh subjects. "I am now quite convinced that San Diego is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in the world and we shall head that way and will not be convinced otherwise until we have seen the place and have been turned away," he wrote. Henri arrived in June and spent most of the latter part of 1914 living in an Irving Gill-designed cottage above La Jolla Cove. During these months the New York artist gave demonstrations to local artist groups, sent canvases to exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francis