Tag: Benjamin Brown

Springtime in a California Paradise

Poppies and Lupines by Frank Moore (1877-1967), The Irvine Museum
Poppies and Lupines by Frank Moore (1877-1967),
The Irvine Museum

The paintings in Paradise Found:  Summer in California, evoke a sunny natural landscape —  the sparsely populated Southern California of the past.  Spring brought fresh, green grass, orange poppies and purple lupines, shown above.   Even now, the hills and mountains turn green this time of year.

Beverly Hills by Paul Grimm (1891-1974), Private Collection, Courtesy of The Irvine Museum
Beverly Hills by Paul Grimm (1891-1974), Private Collection, Courtesy of The Irvine Museum

Beverly Hills is no longer known for its natural landscapes.

Around 1900, people stepping off ships near Los Angeles were in luck if they arrived in springtime.  They could see, forty miles north, fields of California poppies shimmering orange in the sunshine, on a gentle slope rising above Pasadena and just below mountains.

Poppies Near Pasadena by Benjamin Brown (1865-1942). Private Collection, Courtesy The Irvine Museum
Poppies Near Pasadena by Benjamin Brown (1865-1942). Private Collection, Courtesy The Irvine Museum
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