Jack Wisby: Historical Paintings of Marin County

Jack Wisby: Historical Paintings of Marin County

September 25 – November 14, 2021
Co-curated by Elia Haworth and Alfred Harrison

In the early twentieth century, Jack Wisby (1869-1940) painted evocative scenes celebrating the dazzler and multifariousness of Marin County'due south mural. An immigrant from England, he arrived in San Francisco in 1892, and later he and his artist wife lived in many parts of Marin, including Bolinas where, in 1915, they built a habitation with panoramic views that were ofttimes subjects of his paintings.

A prolific and accomplished creative person, Wisby painted works that are both a pleasure to the eye and a fascinating window into the region's past. Drawn from private collections, historical societies, and museums, the paintings in this exhibition presented views we still savor today: a sweeping vista from Factory Valley to San Francisco Bay; Mountain Tamalpais seen from Belvedere; rolling hills and ranchland from Novato to Bespeak Reyes Station; Tomales Bay viewed from Inverness; Brighton Beach at Bolinas; and Stinson Embankment's curving coastline.

This exhibition was co-curated by Alfred Harrison, owner of North Point Gallery and 1 of the Bay Area's foremost experts on early Bay Area California paintings. A new book by Harrison accompanied the exhibition. It clarifies celebrated facts and illuminates insights into Wisby's life, inspirations, and passion for landscape painting. Click here to purchase the volume now!

JACK WISBY (1869-1940), Untitled, appointment unknown, oil on sheet on board, 21 10 26 inches. Courtesy of the Martinelli family.

Introduction

Introduction

Marin County is known for the dazzler and diversity of its landscape and environmental policies preserving the open up lands of West Marin that we savor today. Creative person Jack Wisby's evocative paintings gloat this timeless dazzler—the sensual rolling hills, luminous greens of winter, golden browns of summer, deep forests, and the places where state meets h2o. He also painted celebrated ranches and mannerly seaside cottages, often commissioned past the owners. A prolific painter, his work is both a pleasance to the center and a window into how the region looked 100 years ago.

In keeping with Bolinas Museum'south mission to collect, preserve and showroom the art of coastal Marin, nosotros were proud to present an exhibition and  volume of piece of work past Jack Wisby. Along with his wife, creative person Mary Anne Fossey, he bought land in Bolinas in 1915 and built their habitation on Fiddling Mesa with sweeping views of sea and land that were often the subjects of his paintings. The couple were well known in the community and kept their Bolinas house until 1931.

For the exhibition, we were delighted that Alfred Harrison was also interested in bringing a spotlight to Jack Wisby's fine art. Harrison's noesis and passion for this flow illuminate the importance of remarkable artists of the late nineteen th and early on 20 th century who captured the region with such vision and skill. It was a great award to have him concord to co-curate this exhibition with me.

Alfred Harrison is a longtime Bolinas Museum friend and trusted consultant. As a collector, researcher, lecturer, author, curator, and gallery owner with fifty years of experience, Harrison brings intellectual curiosity, deep cognition, and a sophisticated eye to his projects. This fine catalog is a testament. Nosotros are grateful for his scholarship. Wisby'due south life is non well documented, and Harrison's research clarifies facts and illuminates insights into Jack Wisby'due south history and inspirations.

In 2007, Harrison curated a handsome Bolinas Museum exhibition that presented the paintings of Thaddeus and Ludmilla Welch and produced the book Pastoral California: The Fine art of Thaddeus and Ludmilla Welch that accompanied it . Thaddeus Welch was a mentor to Jack Wisby. The Welchs oftentimes visited friends in Bolinas and are both renowned for their paintings of West Marin around the turn of the 20th century.

In the planning stages of this exhibition, Bolinas Museum put out a call for Jack Wisby paintings, and collectors quickly responded. Some had purchased his work in galleries or at auctions, while others own Wisby paintings passed down as heirlooms from family members who knew the Wisbys. Dewey Livingston, curator of the Jack Mason Museum in Inverness, California, and his squad had presented exhibitions of select Wisby'southward paintings in the past. They pointed the way to several private collections in addition to graciously lending a painting of an Inverness scene for this exhibition. Nosotros thank the individuals and families who loaned works from their private collections and those who have donated Wisby paintings to the Bolinas Museum Permanent Collection. Thank you to the Manufactory Valley Library, Belvedere Tiburon Landmark Society, and the  Capitol Art Program of the California State Legislature. Also, special thanks to Bolinas Museum'due south former Executive Director Jennifer Gately and registrar Kirston Lightowler for their support. Cheers to Laurie Thompson at the Anne T. Kent California Room of the Marin County Library for assistance in inquiry, and North Point Gallery Managing director, Jessie Dunn-Gilbert, for her contribution to bringing this volume to fruition. Thanks to Alfred Harrison for his knowledge, curatorial skill, dedication to early California painting, and outstanding efforts in developing a itemize for all to enjoy.

Elia Haworth
 Curator of Coastal Marin Art and History
 Bolinas Museum

Jack Wisby in his Bolinas studio, n.d., photocopy of original gelatin silver print, Bolinas Museum Archives

Selected Works - Click on an image to read more well-nigh the artwork.

In the Gallery

VIDEO: Alfred Harrison on the Life and Art of Jack Wisby

VIDEO: Alfred Harrison on the Life and Art of Jack Wisby