Ocean Vista

ClassificationsPaintings-oils

Artist Conrad Buff (American [b. Switzerland], 1886 - 1975)

Datec. 1925

Made AtCalifornia, United States, North America

MediumOil on masonite

DimensionsFramed: 32 × 43 3/4 × 2 1/4 in. (81.3 × 111.1 × 5.7 cm)
Unframed: 24 × 36 × 1 in. (61 × 91.4 × 2.5 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Christian and Joyce Title

Object number91.47.4

DescriptionOcean Vista is an oil on Masonite painting by Swiss-born Californian plein air painter Conrad Buff created in the early years of his artistic development. Buff’s relative lack of formal artistic training made for a highly individualized style, although he was drawn to the same subject as other Californian impressionists and his early style reflected their aesthetic in terms of proportion and the degree of naturalism found in his works. These influences are particularly notable in Ocean Vista. At the same time a layer of crosshatching has been added over the work to add texture, color variation and to dynamize the landscape. One critic poignantly noted that the lattice Buff added over his early works almost appeared to be like the lacework that Buff had trained in as a young man. Buff’s individualistic style continued to develop as aesthetics evolved. His work in printmaking led him to include Pointillism in his mid-century work but he eventually tended towards highly geometrized abstraction with thick, distinct bands of color representing nature’s seamless gradients.

On View

On view

Collections