Just 100 years ago, American Realist painter Robert Henri made his first trip to California. For Robert Henri’s California: Realism, Race, and Religion, 1914-1925, curator Derrick R. Cartwright selected two dozen lush oil paintings that were executed in California during Henri’s three visits. These paintings demonstrate that California served as a catalyst for change in Henri’s own work.  Further, Cartwright gives insight into how Henri’s presence and artwork contributed to the historical legacy of California art.

Henri, one of the most influential artists and respected teachers of the early 20th century, firmly rejected the prevailing academic style in favor of a style that used the visual language of his own time. This attitude earned his work both criticism and admiration.

About a decade before his travels led him to the West Coast, Henri gathered with the “Philadelphia Four” ---John Sloan, William Glackens, George Luks and Everett Shinn, a group of philosophically aligned artists. This group of artists painted in what was called Ashcan realism because of their fidelity to the subjects they chose to paint. Rather than paint scenes that glorified nature or glamorized life, Henri and his compatriots chose to work in a style that emanated from an honest, closely observed, directly painted manner. Proclaiming themselves as artists who believed in “art for life’s sake,” they were joined by Maurice Prendergast, Ernest Lawson, and Arthur B. Davies, and they exhibited as a collective known as “The Eight.”

In 1914, Henri traveled to Southern California where he was enchanted by the light, landscape and the people he encountered. He was especially taken with Native American Indians, African-Americans and newly arrived immigrants from China and Mexico. While in California, Henri also served as an advisor and mentor to local artists, gave workshops, painted works in preparation for scheduled exhibitions, and wrote thoughtful pieces about portraiture. On subsequent visits, Henri also accepted portrait commissions from celebrities and society people of Los Angeles.