Rustic Bridge in Lucas Valley - Marin Co.

Nicholas Dunphy

San Francisco Bay Area printmaker Nicholas Dunphy traveled north, over the Golden Gate Bridge, to Marin County for this subject, an old bridge in Lucas Valley, possibly over Miller Creek which drained into San Pablo Bay, a part of San Francisco Bay.

Lucas Valley was part of the Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas grant, a parcel of 21,678.69 acres awarded to Timothy (Don Timoteo) Murphy on February 14, 1844. John Lucas inherited the Santa Margarita rancho (which included Lucas Valley) in 1853.

In 1978, film director George Lucas began acquiring land in the area for his now famous Skywalker Ranch. Coincidentally, Lucas Valley Road was named after the 19th-century rancher, John Lucas, who is not related to George Lucas.

Nicholas Dunphy was born in Seward, Nebraska on July 4, 1896, the son of a U.S. senator. Dunphy moved to Campbell, California in 1906 with his family. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Stanford University where he studied art under Henry Varnum Poor and Robert Harshe. He had further training at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco where he later became the secretary-treasurer for over 25 years.

Most of his life was spent as a resident of San Carlos while maintaining a commercial art studio in San Francisco. Primarily an etcher, he also painted portraits and landscapes of the San Francisco Bay area. Dunphy was a member of the Calififornia Society of Etchers; Palo Alto Art Club; California Printmakers Society; Southern PrintMakers Society; San Francisco Art Association, and the Society of American Etchers. Nicholas Dunphy died in San Carlos, California on Jan. 24, 1955.