Raymond Dabb Yelland (1848 -1900) was an American landscape painter and art instructor. Born Raymond Dabb in London, he came to the United States in 1850 as a young child, and was raised in Union, New Jersey, and later lived in neighboring Elizabeth, New Jersey. He served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. After his military service, he attended the Pennington Seminary. He then studied at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

in New York from 1868 to 1872, and was hired as an instructor for one year after his graduation. In 1873, he was hired as a faculty member by Mills Seminary in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, the first women's college west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. He settled in Oakland with his wife, the former Annie Meeker. In 1875, he legally changed his name, as did his wife, adding his mother's maiden name as their surnames. Essentially a Realist, he specialized in painting the seashores and mountains of Northern California. Originally a follower of the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...

, Yelland adopted a style called Luminism, inspired by artists such as

Sanford Robinson Gifford Sanford Robinson Gifford (July 10, 1823 – August 29, 1880) was an American landscape painter and a leading member of the second generation of Hudson River School artists. A highly-regarded practitioner of Luminism, his work was noted for its ...

and

John F. Kensett John Frederick Kensett (March 22, 1816 – December 14, 1872) was an American landscape painter and engraver born in Cheshire, Connecticut. He was a member of the second generation of the Hudson River School of artists. Kensett's signature works ...

. In the 1890s, Yelland was influenced by Tonalism, along with contemporaries like William Keith and

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...

. One of his paintings, ''Cities of the Golden Gate'', a view of Oakland and San Francisco from the Berkeley hills, was described as "monumental" and a "heroic panorama bathed in a revelatory light". Yelland taught for many years at the California School of Design, and also at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in the years before his death. He became ill in the early months of 1900, and died of pneumonia at his home in Oakland that July. The first solo exhibition of his work in 50 years took place at the

Crocker Art Museum The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum in the Western United States, located in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1885, the museum holds one of the premier collections of Californian art. The collection includes American works dating f ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelland, Raymond Dabb Painters from California American landscape painters 1848 births 1900 deaths People from Oakland, California