EARLY CALIFORNIA

Born in Gold Hill of Placer County, California, Lorenzo Latimer became a prolific California landscape painter and highly respected teacher. He is best known for his watercolor paintings of picturesque views of northern California including giant redwoods, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He exhibited frequently with the San Francisco Art Association and also had a work included in the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Underscoring his growing reputation was his election to artist membership in the Bohemian Club and selection to the Guild of Arts and Crafts, a group of artists, writers and musicians that imposed cultural standards on local culture. Following the earthquake, Latimer's reputation as one of San Francisco's leading painters began to diminish because he did not change his style to conform with modernist styles. He remained a highly influential teacher, especially of female students, and encouraged them to find their own unique styles. Beginning 1897, he exhibited many of their paintings with his own, and he led many painting trips, often to locations near Lake Tahoe and the Sierras including Yosemite. In 1914, he spent three summer months near Tahoe at Fallen Leaf and returned every summer for the remainder of his life. In 1916, he began autumn classes in Reno, Nevada, and in 1921, students there organized the Latimer Art Club. Known as the "Latimers", members became the founders of the Nevada Art Gallery, whose successor is the Nevada Museum of Art. His work can be found in the collections of the Bohemian Club, the Sierra Nevada Museum in Reno where he was also active as a teacher in the 1920s and founded the Latimer Art Club, and the de Young Museum.