Henrietta M Shore Original Vintage Antique California Progressive Group Abstract Modernist Carmel by the Sea Landscape Oil Painting

Henrietta Shore, (1880-1963), original vintage California Progressive Group abstract modernist Carmel-by-the-Sea landscape oil painting, circa 1935. The painting is oil on canvas, attached to a board, and is in good overall condition. The painting has a couple of minor paint discolorations from cleaning, (lower left), and very light paint abrasion/degradation in parts of the trees on the left, (the most noticeable is the lower branch on the tree to the right). The painting is initialed lower left, with the artists' initials also in the lower right corner. The painting also has some remnants of a signature on the reverse of the painting, on the board. The painting measures approximately 14" X 20", plus the original 1930s modernist craftsman-carved wood rose gold gilded frame.

Henrietta Mary Shore, born on January 22, 1880, in Toronto, Canada, was a Canadian-born artist who played a pioneering role in modernism. She spent a significant part of her life in the United States, particularly in California.

During her early years, Shore developed a strong affinity for painting and nature. At the age of fifteen, she began studying painting under the guidance of Canadian Impressionist Laura Muntz Lyall.

Between 1900 and 1913, Shore frequently traveled between Toronto, Europe, and New York. In New York, she enrolled at the New York School of Art and studied under influential artists like William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri. Henri's Ash Can School aesthetic had a significant impact on Shore's work during this period. She gained recognition within the Canadian art community, teaching classes, holding solo exhibitions in Toronto, and participating in group exhibitions in Paris, London, and Liverpool.

In 1913, Shore relocated from Toronto to Los Angeles, where she became part of a small yet influential group of early West Coast modernists. Her artistic career flourished in California, and she garnered success by winning silver medals at the Panama-California Exposition in 1914 and 1915. She also became a founding member of The Los Angeles Modern Art Society, which aimed to provide exposure to experimental artists outside the established California Art Club. Shore maintained close correspondence with Robert Henri during this time.

In 1920, Shore moved to New York, working in a studio on West 57th Street. Her artistic style underwent a radical transformation during this period, shifting from painterly scenes of everyday life to vibrant, close-up abstractions. It is believed that her exposure to other modernists in New York, such as Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe, influenced this change in style. Critics often reviewed Shore's work alongside O'Keeffe's, attributing the similarities in their abstracted nature scenes to a shared "female sensibility." However, Shore felt frustrated by the reduction of her work to her gender, as she intended to convey metaphysical themes inspired by Eastern philosophy and Theosophy. In 1923, she returned to Los Angeles, where she continued to create art and exhibit her work. Shore also opened a gallery/restaurant called Studio Inn in 1925.

In 1927, Shore met photographer Edward Weston, and they developed a close friendship. Weston was captivated by Shore's paintings of seashells and found inspiration in them for his photographs.

In the late 1920s, Shore moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, joining the thriving art colony there. She found inspiration in Carmel's natural beauty and exhibited her work in solo and group shows, including major retrospectives. However, Shore faced financial difficulties during the Great Depression and gradually faded into relative obscurity, while Weston achieved fame. Like many artists of the time, Shore relied on government commissions for income, and in 1936, she received a commission to create murals for the Santa Cruz Post Office and the Monterey Post Office. These murals showcased scenes of industry and work, reflecting the themes often found in New Deal art.

In her later years, Shore faced financial hardships and lived in poverty. To sustain herself, she had to sell her Weston photographs. Her situation worsened, and in the late 1950s, her neighbors had her institutionalized, despite her not being mentally ill. This deeply saddened her friend, Jehanne Bietry Salinger, who believed it was a wrongful act. Shore spent her final days in a mental institution in San Jose, California, where she passed away in 1963 at the age of 83.

Following her death, Shore's work largely fell into obscurity, unlike the enduring fame of Edward Weston and Georgia O'Keeffe. However, the Carmel Art Association organized a posthumous exhibition of her artwork, and her remaining works were divided between her nephews. In 1994, she was included in the exhibition "Origins of Abstraction in Canada: Modernist Pioneers" at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, further recognizing her contributions to the art world.

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