William Keith
American
The Scottish-born William Keith moved to San Francisco in 1859 and developed a lifelong passion for the California landscape. He found success painting landscapes for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and these commissions financed travel to Europe to further his art education. On a return trip to San Francisco, Keith befriended the naturalist John Muir. Their remarkable friendship has been called “one of the important cultural transactions of the period in California.”
Born
1838
Died
1911
What do you experience walking at night in nature?
With its crimson and golden light, this landscape is evocative of California; it may have been inspired by Keith’s excursion to Monterey the year it was painted. The painting was described in a 1912 exhibition catalogue as “a poem in pigments, one of those rare poetic fancies, a song without words such as only a masterhand and spirit can call from the spheres.” Keith considered this work one of his best, exhibiting it in the California Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Credit
Presented to the City and County of San Francisco by Gordon Blanding
Item ID
1941.16
Dimensions
35 1/4 x 59 1/4 in. (89.5 x 150.5 cm)
Date
1891
Country
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Artist name
William Keith
Artwork location