Pacific Parnassus, Mount Tamalpais

Arthur Bowen Davies

American

Arthur B. Davies was born in Utica, New York. He became interested in art at the age of 15, after he saw a traveling exhibition of American landscape paintings. Davies trained in Chicago and New York. Regular trips to Europe helped him formulate his distinctive, dreamlike landscapes and imaginative figure paintings, which were purchased and promoted by leading American collectors.

Born

1862

Died

1928

Pacific Parnassus, Mount Tamalpais by Arthur Bowen Davies

Have you ever touched the clouds?

Davies climbed Mount Tamalpais in Marin County to create drawings for this atmospheric view of Stinson Beach. He was interested in the colors of the landscape, painting the deep, inky blues of the Pacific Ocean and the warm golden hills leading to the beach below. Painting from a high vantage, Davies was able to assert the great panoramic qualities of the California landscape—using long, arcing contours, he compressed the hilltop perspective, holding the viewer high above the water.

Medium

Oil on canvas

Credit

Museum purchase, gift of The Museum Society Auxiliary

Item ID

1993.19.1

Dimensions

26 1/4 x 40 1/4 in. (66.7 x 102.2 cm)

Date

ca. 1905

Country

Artist name

Arthur Bowen Davies

Artwork location