"Bringing the Museum to You"

The Cyber Art Show continues our study of American landscape painters in the Public Domain with a 12-piece Exhibition of works by John Bond Francisco (1863-1931).

 

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Francisco was both an accomplished musician and painter. After studying both subjects at Ohio State University, he traveled to Europe to further his education and training. In Munich he studied under Werner Fechner. He also studied under Nauen Schule at the Berlin Academy. In Paris, he enrolled at the Academie Julian, working under the tutelage of the French masters William A. Bouguereau, Gustave Courtois, and Robert-Fleury. Later, he also attended the Academie Colarossi, where he studied under Thomas Couture and Jean Andé Rixens. He also painted in Switzerland, Germany, and France, and took violin lessons in Berlin and Paris. The European influences, especially those of the French Impressionists of the Barbizon School, informed Francisco’s own Impressionistic paintings of California deserts and mountains, for which he became famous.
 

Francisco settled in Los Angeles in 1887, spending the rest of his life there. His home would become a popular gathering place for artists and musicians. Notable musicians, artists, editors and actors gathered in his home and studio at 1401 Albany Street, including celebrities like Sarah Berhardt, Victor Herbert, and Lillian Russell.

 

In 1897 he served as the first concertmaster of the newly-formed Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra. He opened his academy of art in 1899, where he taught others, combining studio and en plein styles of painting. Among his students was Elmer Wachtel.

 

At the turn of the century, Francisco dedicated his talents to painting the American Southwest, applying his Impressionistic influences to rural scenes from Southern California to northern Arizona to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he was commissioned to paint the Grand Canyon.

 

John Bond Francisco was a member of many art associations, including the Laguna Beach Art Association; Los Angeles Art Association; Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles; and the Southern California Art Association.

He died in Los Angeles in 1931. Notable collections of his works are found today at the Los Angeles County Museum and the University of California at Los Angeles.

 

- Image of the Day -

 

  "California Landscape"

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Twelve-Piece Exhibition by

 

    John Bond Francisco (1863-1931)