''Black Rock, Laguna'', Goff Island, circa 1915-1916, signed lower right: Guy Rose, titled verso, oil on canvas, 21'' H x 24'' W, est: $150,000/200,000
Note: Guy Rose, the local-born master of impressionism, spent eight years living in Giverny, France where he was strongly influenced by his friend Claude Monet and other impressionist painters working there. When Guy Rose returned to California in 1914, he brought with him an intensified focus on light that can be seen in his execution of California landscapes and coastals from this period. ''In painting the pacific, Rose could indulge two of his major pictorial interests explored at Giverny; reflections on water and multifarious atmosphere. It also satisfied his personal penchant for creating images of solitude and quiet. In 1915 and 1916 he visited the Southern California beach communities of Laguna and La Jolla and painted the coastline with a complete command of the impressionistic strategies he had mastered at Giverny'' (W. South, ''Guy Rose: American Impressionist'', Oakland, CA, 1995, p. 62).
Rose explored the general composition of ''Black Rock, Laguna'' in similarly sized canvases only a few other times. In the present work, Rose captures the celebrated Laguna Cove, located near the present day Montage Laguna Beach, in a calm, atmospheric moment when low waves lap against a smooth beach. Subtle reds and greens accent the sand and cliffs and visually play against a ''vaporous'' cloud-filled sky. Goff Island dominates the center of the composition and is further emphasized by a shaft of sunlight cutting through the clouds directly above the rock. This restrained direct sunlight dances on the middle ground waves accenting ocean jewel tones. ''Rose?s keen attentiveness to actual atmospheric conditions, derived most fully from Monet, intensifies the experience of openness and recession'' (W. South, p. 64).

Visual: Generally good condition. Very minor upper stretcher bar crease and some very minor stable scattered craquelure in the sky. Artist's pinholes in the corners. Blacklight: Very minor touch-up in the upper left and right extreme corners.