by Jane Brackman
The Pasadena Museum of California Art at 690 E. Union Street in Pasadena is exhibiting a retrospective of plein-air painter Edgar Payne. Payne was an American impressionist, famous for painting the Sierras as well as other monumental nature scenes all over the world, from the first part of the 20th century through the 1950s I think.
This is an amazing show for anyone. (And if you are a hiker, I warn you, it will bring tears to your eyes.) But the thing that took my breath away is the painting titled “Hills of Altadena.” (1917-1919). I recognized it immediately. I believe he was sitting very near the Country Club, probably near the corner of Holliston and Mendocino, looking east. You can’t see it in this poor quality photo that I took from the show catalog, but in the painting which is very large, at the end of the road (which must be Mendocino) you can clearly see the cut in the mountain that is the Mt. Wilson Toll Road!
For comparison, I’ve included a second photo that shows the same POV during magic hour, taken from the ATCC balcony last fall.
The show is open through October 14, 2012. http://www.pmcaonline.org/exhibits/70/index.html
