Estelle L. Thomas (1883-1969)
Seaside Pasture Near Monterey, California
American: Early 20th Century
Signed E. Thomas lower left
Titled, signed, inscribed verso
Watercolor on paper
7.75 x 15 inches
Provenance: The Beard Art Galleries, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
$750

Realist watercolor painting of a sunlit pasture with a few grazing cows on a rocky promontory along the coast of Monterey, California.

Estelle L. Thomas, a painter, illustrator and teacher, was born in New York City, and studied at the Pittsburgh School of Design for Women, the University of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Institute, the Parsons School of Design in New York and with Martin Borgard, John Sloan and Charles Hawthorne.  Around the time this painting was made, Thomas was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spending summers in East Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she was a member of the Gloucester Society of Artists.   She was a member of the Art Association of Pittsburgh, where she exhibited regularly between 1910 and 1946.  Other exhibitions credits include the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Jenner Art Gallery and the Carnegie Institute.  From 1910 to 1946 she also taught in the Pittsburgh public schools.  The inscription on the reverse of this watercolor indicates that Thomas also lived in San Diego.

Inscribed on reverse: "Seaside Pasture near Monterey, Calif. E. Thomas 1445 Front St. San Diego, Calif. Watercolor No 1."

Condition:  Generally in very good condition, bright clear colors, with the usual light wear, toning, etc., noting minor scattered foxing in sky.  Paper laid down on board.

References:

Gilbert, Dorothy B., ed.  Who’s Who in American Art.  New York: American Federation of Arts and R.R. Bowker, 1959. p. 565.