Untitled (California desert landscape)

John Aloysius Stanton

This untitled work is illustrated on page 105 of Singular Impressions, (fig. 105; Joann Moser, Smithsonian Press, 1997), and is a unique example of a classic Western landscape captured in a French Impressionistic style.

Stanton's life played out against the backdrop of change that took place in the West in late 19th century: raised on a farm in what is now the famed Mission District of San Francisco, then studying art for five years in Paris, and returning to become Professor of Drawing and Painting at the Mark Hopkins School of Design. Tragically, his work was eventually handed down to relatives that didn't know the value of his output, and ended up throwing out the bulk of his paintings and monotypes. As a result his work is quite rare.

Here, a dusty desert landscape is softened by a distant mountain range and pale turquoise sky. Muted tones and a simplicity of line keeps the composition fresh and gently lively, even after a more than a century.