EARLY CALIFORNIA

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, John Gamble is known for his California floral coastal and landscape paintings, especially fields of poppies and lupines. From Santa Barbara, he was one of the leaders of the California plein-air painting movement. He was also a successful portrait painter. He painted in Arizona including the Grand Canyon, but his reputation was for vibrant wild flower painting, influenced by the poppy fields of French Impressionist Claude Monet. He also painted coastal views of Pacific Ocean sunsets. One of his closest painting companions was Elmer Wachtel.