Guy Rose (1867-1925)
Lifting Fog, La Jolla Cliffs
signed 'Guy Rose' (lower right)
oil on canvas
32 x 39 1/4 in.
framed 41 1/4 x 49 in.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Property from a Midwestern Collector.

In addition to being one of California's few native-born plein-air painters, Guy Rose is perhaps best known for his time spent in the French art colony of Giverny and by proxy his associations with Claude Monet. It wasn't until Rose reached maturity in his career however that he was able to fully apply the tenants of French Impressionism to a more familiar setting - his home state. Lifting Fog, La Jolla Cliffs, was painted during a period when this confluence of French style and California subject reached an apogee.

After over a decade abroad, Rose permanently returned to California in 1914 and immediately set out to paint up and down the coastline. Early on critics saw merit in his rendering of the sea with Antony Anderson of the Los Angeles Times noting, 'Rose had never painted the sea till a year ago, and when he gazed upon the Pacific it must have been with a new and 'wild surmise' for he immediately sat himself down to paint it - and discovered he had come into his own. Luckily for him and thrice luckily for us.' ¹ Like Monet's reoccurring motif of waterlilies or haystacks, Rose revisited the same seaside hamlets --Carmel, Laguna Beach, La Jolla-- with the intent of capturing variations in both atmosphere and light.

Lifting Fog pushes the boundaries of misty mornings and overcast skies by fully enveloping the viewer in a thick marine layer. While sea smoke obscures the distant horizon, the La Jolla caves at Goldfish Point remain in sharp focus providing a protective barrier for viewer and artist alike from the spray of seawater. This serves as a stark contrast to the wispy clouds and gentle surf of Rose's other depiction of La Jolla (see La Jolla Beach sold at Bonhams in November of 2010). While each work was painted in differing climates, both iterations equally succeed at paying tribute to the vast Pacific. 'In painting the Pacific, Rose could indulge two of his major pictorial interests explored at Giverny, reflections on the water and multifarious atmosphere. It also satisfied his personal penchant for creating images of solitude and quiet.' ²

Devoid of any figures or vegetation, Lifting Fog is one of Rose's most introspective looks at the California coastline. Color therefore serves a dual purpose, with the cool palette not only denoting the weather but also adding to the overall sentiment. Rose achieves the desired effect of both atmosphere and mood by incorporating a spectrum of blues ranging from softer pale greys to the darkest inky hues. The sense of isolation is compounded by foaming white caps that lead the eye in a continuous line directly up the face of steep vertical cliffs. The result is a pensive view of nature that echoes the seclusion Rose first experienced while in the Giverny countryside. 'Rose is a direct, artistic descendent of Monet, but he is a man of today, and he is therefore more personal in his point of view. In him, Monet's passion for paint has been metamorphosed by time and spirit into a poetic feeling for nature.' ³

While California scenes only account for roughly seven years of Guy Rose's artistic output, the works created during this period are some of his most notable. Lifting Fog, La Jolla Cliffs blends sea and sky in a thoughtful interpretation of French Impressionism that ultimately gives way to California Plein-Air painting. 'Guy Rose, notwithstanding his adventures around the globe, is 'one of us.'' ⁴

¹Antony Anderson, The Los Angeles Times, 20 February, 1916.
² Will South, Guy Rose: American Impressionist, Oakland, California, 1995, p. 62.
³ Antony Anderson, The Los Angeles Times, 17 January 1917.
⁴ South, p. 60.

The canvas has been wax lined and the stretcher bars are replaced. There is craquelure throughout. Under UV light examination, apparently no evidence of retouch. Some minor fluorescence due to pigments. No further condition issues to report.

In an older gilt carved frame.