Victor Stanley Matson (1895–1972) was one of the California Plein-Air Painters and he was active from the 1920s until his death. He was an active organizer for a number of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

arts organizations and served as President of the historic

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

from 1961 to 1962. His work was widely exhibited with the Southland art clubs in an era when few galleries were interested in Plein-Air landscapes and he had a solo exhibition at

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Cente ...

in 1964.

Childhood and Youth

Matson was born and grew up in Salt Lake City, part of the large community of people of Scandinavian descent that had immigrated in the era of Mormon settlement in the 19th century. He was an excellent student and apparently attended military school and learned to fly as a young man. He graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

with a degree in mechanical engineering. Also interested in art, he studied drawing, perspective and rendering while at college. Matson moved to Southern California to take an engineering job in 1922, settling first in Long Beach. Then, in 1924, he and his wife Virginia, purchased a home in South Pasadena just north of Alhambra Park and the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra.

Art Studies in California

Once he settled in South Pasadena and began working as an engineer for the city of Los Angeles, Matson began to study art in earnest. During the 1920s,

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains t ...

there was a small arts community on Champion Place, known as "Artist's Alley," where Jack Wilkinson Smith (1873–1949),

Frank Tenney Johnson Frank Tenney Johnson (June 26, 1874 – January 1, 1939) was a painter of the Old American West, and he popularized a style of painting cowboys which became known as "The Johnson Moonlight Technique". ''Somewhere on the Range'' is an examp ...

(1874–1939) and Clyde Forsyth (1885–1962) had their homes and studios and where

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

(1894–1978) spent many of his summers. Matson studied privately and painted with Jack Wilkinson Smith and made trips to the desert to paint with the Alhambra painters. He also studied at the Businessman's Art Institute near downtown with W.T. McDermitt (1884–1961) and privately with Trude Hanscom (1890–1975).

Painting career

Victor Matson was part of the Arroyo Arts and Crafts Movement. This movement of artisans and artists was in its last years and was based in and around

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, South Pasadena and Highland Park, California, on the banks of the large wash that descended from the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

. By the early 1930s, Matson was exhibiting his work. He exhibited extensively with all of the major Southern California art organizations from then until the late 1960s. He won dozens of awards in local and regional competitions including the Purchase Prize at the California Statewide Exhibit in 1943 and 1946, where his paintings joined the official California State Collection. Matson had solo exhibitions at the Los Angeles Arts Center, the Alhambra City Hall, the Glendale Art Association and the Beverly Hills Women's Club. In 1965 he had a special exhibition in the rotunda of the Los Angeles City Hall. During the peak year of Matson's career there were few museum venues or professional galleries interested in traditional paintings that originated out of doors and so artists like Matson were forced to exhibit in less prestigious venues. Matson participated in many shows at places like the

Greek Theatre (Los Angeles) Greek Theatre is an amphitheatre located in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California. It is owned by the city of Los Angeles and is operated by ASM Global. Designed by architects Samuel Tilden Norton, Frederick Hastings Wallisand, and the Tacoma ...

, the Friday Morning Club, the Duncan Vail Galleries, the Hollywood Women's Club, the Pasadena City Library, Bullocks Department Store, the Eden Club and even local banks.

Camera Pictorialism

Victor Matson was part of the large

pictorialist Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...

movement in

. The "blurred aesthetic" of camera

pictorialism Pictorialism is an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer ha ...

seems to be of natural appeal to an artist who was interested in

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. He was a member of the Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles, a group that was founded in 1914 had an annual exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, beginning in 1918. Matson participated in the organizations salons from the 1920s through the late 1930s and he also exhibited internationally. For example, the 1936 catalog from the 19th Annual Salon at the Los Angeles Museum lists two photographs by Matson, "April" and "Angel's Landing,

Zion Canyon Zion Canyon (also called Little Zion, Mukuntuweap, Mu-Loon'-Tu-Weap, and Straight Cañon; ''weap'' is Paiute for canyon) is a deep and narrow gorge in southwestern Utah, United States, carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Nearly the entir ...

." Matson's photographs were usually subjects that were similar to his paintings, landscapes and harbor scenes. He was an active in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

from the 1920s through the 1940s. His photographs are in the collection of the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

Printmaking

Matson was an enthusiastic printmaker. In the 1920s, he studied with Franz Geritz (1895–1945), one of Southern California's preeminent printmakers. In the last days of the Arts and Crafts Movement he made woodblock prints of familiar

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

subjects like the San Gabriel Mission, palm trees, and his own home. He also studied etching and other printmaking techniques. Among other venues, his prints were exhibited at El Alisal, the

Charles Fletcher Lummis Charles Fletcher Lummis (March 1, 1859, in Lynn, Massachusetts – November 25, 1928, in Los Angeles, California) was a United States journalist, and an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation. A traveler in the American Southwest, h ...

(1859–1928) home in Highland Park, California.

Leadership of Southland Art Organizations

For several decades, Matson was one of the most active artists on the Southern California art club scene. He served as an officer for virtually every Southland art organization and was President of the California Art Club, the Painters and Sculptors Club and the Scandinavian-American Art Association. Matson and his wife Virginia, who was an Honorary Member of the California Art Club, helped to organize exhibits for many of the clubs at a time when few galleries were interested in the Impressionist landscapes. Between World War II and the mid-1970s, when interest in Plein-Air painting was at its lowest ebb, he played a crucial role in keeping these traditional organizations operating and the painterly landscape before the public.

Methods and Assessment

Matston's work all originated out of doors with pencil sketches or small paintings. He usually worked "en plein air" in sizes ranging from 16" x 20" to 18" x 24". Matson augmented his outdoor studies with notes and photographs. He "worked up" larger paintings in the studio, which usually ranged from 22" x 28" to 26" x 32." There is no record of Matson painting major "exhibition size" works. He painted more scenes of the Mojave desert than any other location and he joined Sam Hyde Harris on many trips to the desert. Matson did paint coastal landscapes and marines on occasion, but they are rare in his oeuvre. Matson did paint in the Sierras, but his trips there were infrequent. He did a few scenes of Utah and Colorado during family vacations. Matson's style of work was straightforward, heavily influenced by his teacher Jack Wilkinson Smith, but it seldom had the subtlety of Smith's work or the awareness of light that was the hallmark of the finest California Plein-Air Painters. His work could be somewhat "blocky" and stylized with large planes of broad brushwork. Matson was never a major California painter but he served as an important link in maintaining the Plein-Air tradition.

Memberships and Affiliations

*California Art Club, Los Angeles, California (President, 1961–1962) *Painters and Sculptors of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (President, 1964) *Laguna Beach Artists Association, Laguna Beach, California *

American Artists Professional League The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is an American organization that promotes artists and their works. It was formed in 1928 in New York City by Frederick Ballard Williams Frederick Ballard Williams (1871- 1956) was an American landsc ...

, New York, New York *Valley Artists Guild, Los Angeles, California *Scandanvian-American Art Association, Los Angeles, California *San Gabriel Artists Association, San Gabriel, California *The Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California *Print Makers Society of California, Los Angeles, California *Businessmen's Art Institute, Los Angeles, California

References

*Merrell, Eric, ''Historic Artists of the California Art Club'', California Art Club Website, 2010 *Merrell, Eric, ''Presidents of the California Art Club'', California Art Club Website, 2010 *Dunbier, Lonnie Pearson (Editor), ''The Artists Bluebook,'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 2005 *Davenport, Ray, ''Davenport's Art Reference (The Gold Edition),'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 2005 *Hughes, Edan Milton,'' Artists in California: 1786-1940,'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 2002 and 1989 *Falk, Peter Hastings, ''Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975,'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 1999 *Morseburg, Jeffrey, Style 1900, ''California Painting During the Arts and Crafts Period'', 1997 *Falk, Peter Hastings, ''Southwest Art, The Red Book,'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 1993 *Morseburg, Jeffrey, ''Victor Matson: 1895-1972'', 1989 (Exhibition Catalog) *Jaques Cattell Press, ''Who's Who in American Art, 1976 (12th Edition),'' Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, 1976 *''The Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles, 19th Annual Salon of Pictorial Photography,'' 1936 *''The Pictorialist: A Compilation of Photographs from the Fourteenth Annual International Salon of Pictorial Photography'', 1931 (Camera Pictorialist Catalog) *Ask Art, Online Art Dictionary, Artist's Summary Page

External links

California Art Club WebsiteMatson Photograph at Los Angeles County Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Victor 1895 births 1972 deaths Artists from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni 20th-century American painters American male painters Painters from California American landscape painters Artists of the American West Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles 20th-century American male artists