California Impressionism

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California Gold 1924 William Wendt

As Impressionism spread from Europe to the United States, a regional variation formed in California. Newly accessible by the transcontinental railroad completed in 1869, California provided artists with inspiring new vistas of mountains, seashores and inland deserts rarely painted before. Although several prominent artists had ventured west earlier, the influx of the plein air painters, working directly on location, out-of-doors, became a stronger movement in the 1890s. We researched the artists who formed the main core of what would become known as the California Impressionists and created this article as an introduction to their work. Some information about important artists of the era was scanty and hard to find. If we have left out anyone essential, let us know.

Early arrivals included portrait painter, Benjamin Chambers Brown. After visiting in the 1880s, Brown moved permanently to Los Angeles in …