Arts & Events
Early 20th Century California Art is Focus of Moraga Exhibit Closing Sept. 16
If you love either early 20th century art or the California out-of-doors, you have just one more week to enjoy a delightful exhibit at St. Mary’s College Museum of Art, just a couple of stops through the Tunnel in Moraga. “The Nature of Collecting: the Early 20th Century Fine Art Collection of Roger Epperson” showcases works collected by an East Bay Regional Park ranger between 1984 and his untimely accidental death at the age of 54 in 2008.
The genesis of his hands-on quest for works created primarily in California in the first third of the past century was Asian-influenced color woodcuts, with especially fine examples of artists like Bertha Lum, William Rice and Berkeley’s own Chiura Obata, whose Telegraph Avenue studio is a Berkeley landmark now threatened by development.
California plein air painting, landscapes which show the majestic outdoor scenes characteristic of the state’s wide open spaces as well as intimate views of natural settings, form another featured category. An essay by Robert Taylor in the beautiful exhibit catalogue quotes longtime friend Bob Doyle, now general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District saying that Epperson’s “joy in being outdoors” informed his art acquisitions.
Images of some of the works on exhibit can be seen here
The museum is open Wednesday through Sundays from 11:00am to 4:30pm. The last day of the exhibit is a week from Sunday, September 16.
Saint Mary's College of California:
1928 Saint Mary's Road Moraga, CA 94556,
(925) 631–4000.
