Oriana Weatherbee Day
Oriana Weatherbee Day was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts, in 1838. In 1877 she and her husband moved to Vallejo, California, and between 1877 and 1884 she traveled the length of El Camino Real, visiting all 21 of the then-disintegrating California missions. Day sought to paint every individual mission, though instead of documenting the buildings as the ruins she encountered, she rendered them at the height of their historical influence, showing daily life during California’s missionary past.
Do artists document reality?
Mission Santa Barbara was founded in 1786. It was built by the Chumash people, who were forced to aid in its construction and convert to Christianity. Before the arrival of the missionaries, the Chumash had lived in the area for thousands of years, spread across 40 neighboring villages. With their way of life destroyed by the introduction of the mission system, the Chumash came to rely on the mission for protection, food, and shelter.
Gift of Mrs. Eleanor Martin
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