Charles Payzant Original Vintage California Regionalist Regionalism Canadian American Watercolor Art Painting of Santa Monica Harbor 1968
Original vintage California Regionalism watercolor painting of the Santa Monica harbor, dated June 1968, by Charles Payzant, (1898-1980).
The 12th annual juried exhibition of painting and sculpture at the Los Angeles Museum in 1931 was an important opportunity for Californians to see the work of prominent American scene painters Benton, Wood, Curry and Marsden Hartley. Los Angeles watercolorists Hardie Gramatky and Charles Payzant won two of the four awards at the exhibition. Canadian-born Payzant won his award of merit for a watercolor Wilshire Blvd. This painting of what was Los Angeles' main street at the time has some illustrational qualities but is also highly inventive.
The 12th annual juried exhibition of painting and sculpture at the Los Angeles Museum in 1931 was an important opportunity for Californians to see the work of prominent American scene painters Benton, Wood, Curry and Marsden Hartley. Los Angeles watercolorists Hardie Gramatky and Charles Payzant won two of the four awards at the exhibition. Canadian-born Payzant won his award of merit for a watercolor Wilshire Blvd. This painting of what was Los Angeles' main street at the time has some illustrational qualities but is also highly inventive.
Charles Payzant (1898-1980) Born: Halifax, Canada; Studied: Victoria School of Art (Halifax, Canada), Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles), Otis Art Institute (Los Angeles); Member: American Watercolor Society, California Water Color Society. St. George Charles Payzant, as his birth certificate reads, was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada. After serving with the 193rd Nova Scotia Highlanders and the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, he received art instruction in England and Canada. In the early 1920s, he moved to Los Angeles and continued his art education at the Otis Art Institute and Chouinard Art Institute.
By the mid-1920s, he was a freelance commercial artist, producing illustrations in watercolor and line art. Charles Payzant also began producing fine art watercolors painted on location around Los Angeles. His background in illustration was apparent in many of these works and gave them a quality unlike what most of the California watercolorists were producing. They were very early examples of what would later become known as the California Style of watercolor painting.
In 1930, he began exhibiting these works in the California Water Color Society shows and as the younger artists were developing their style, he was refining his already developed approach and was winning a number of awards. He painted on location and often chose to depict city street scenes with people, cars and buildings. His approach to watercolor painting was direct and confident. One of his close friends and painting partners during this period was Hardie Gramatky.
The freelance art business in Los Angeles during the Depression was not very lucrative. In 1934, he took a job painting watercolor backgrounds for the Walt Disney Studios. He produced art for many cartoon shorts and did elaborate backgrounds for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Make Mine Music, Bambi and The Three Caballeros. The skills he developed while painting with watercolor on a daily basis greatly improved his ability to produce fine art watercolors when painting for pleasure.
After the World War II era, he left Disney to again pursue a freelance commercial art business. He began working with his wife, Terry Shannon Payzant, on a series of over fifty children's books; she wrote the text and he did the illustrations. In addition, he became the director of the Dick and Jane series of school readers which contained over 6,000 pictures. Payzant also continued to paint California Style watercolors well into the 1970's.
Biographical information:
Interview with Terry Shannon Payzant, 1983.
Biography courtesy of California Watercolors 1850-1970,
©2002 Hillcrest Press, Inc.
Charles Payzant
(1898-1980)
Watercolor on woven paper
Hand dated verso, June 1968
Various writing/notes by artist that have been crossed out.
Painting has provenance of one of two by the artist, at a local Santa Monica estate. (The other is an oil, signed lower right) This painting, unlike the other oil painting, has illegible writing/illegible signature/very difficult to locate, and read. Therefore painting is in the manner of Charles Payzant.
Painting is in excellent original condition, behind glass, and original mat. The mat is old and discolored due to age, and should be replaced.
Painting measures approximately 16" X 21", plus frame.
In frame, painting measures approximately 20.4" X 27.2"
Before shipping, glass will be removed to prevent possible damage to art from glass, in shipping.
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