Maynard Dixon Paintings

'Scenic view ahead'

The Wildling Art Museum has organized a special public opening for the exhibition “Scenic View Ahead: Cover Art from the Auto Club’s Westways Collection” from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

The exhibition  was organized in cooperation with the Automobile Club of Southern California and features artwork from the ACSC’s “Westways Cover Art Program.”

Beginning in 1928, editor Phil Townsend Hanna changed the original plain covers of “Touring Topics” (later “Westways”) which featured the Auto Club logo – to inspiring fine artworks commissioned from a variety of noted artists such as Maynard Dixon, Carl Oscar Borg, Conrad Buff, Phil Dike, Rex Brandt, and many more, including paintings from local artist Merv Corning.

The artwork was carefully selected to showcase the region not only to Californians, but also a growing international clientele.

The Wildling’s exhibition will feature works spanning from 1928 to 1981, chosen to specifically complement the museum’s mission of educating visitors about the importance of wilderness areas and nature, through the talents of artists, so that readers may become inspired to preserve those areas for future generations.

  In recognition of the Auto Club’s long history of encouraging people to take to the highways and byways to discover the richness of California, the Saturday event will include vintage and classic cars in front of the museum as part of the public opening.

KRAZy Country 105.9FM, will be on hand, and there will be free drawings for goodies from local businesses: Blair Fox Winery, California Wood-fired Catering, Corner House Coffee, Global Gardens, and the Wildling Art Museum.

 In addition, there will be a “make-your-own” keychain craft booth (while supplies last) and an opportunity to have your picture taken against a giant replica of a Westways Magazine.

 The Wildling Art Museum offers visitors a unique perspective on the importance of preserving our natural heritage. Through the eyes of artists and interpretive materials, guests can renew their relationship with the wilderness through art and understand its fragile nature - hopefully leaving more committed toward ensuring those spaces remain for future generations.

Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, the museum offers three or four major exhibitions each year, 10 to 12 smaller exhibitions, a gift shop, a variety of programming, and Saturday morning children’s craft classes.

Mural Painting: Art of Maynard Dixon, The

An active and outspoken, sometimes a cantankerous, participant in the life of San Francisco and the West, painter Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) developed enduring themes: the majestic western landscape, the mysticism of the Native American, and (briefly, during the Great Depression) people caught in the grip of economic and social hardship. Profusely illustrated with numerous new images of paintings and other artwork, this book traces the emergence of Dixon as a transitional figure in the art history of America. Poems, letters, and essays written by Dixon support his responses to the dynamic changes in American art from the early decades of the twentieth century.

Donald J. Hagerty has organized numerous museum exhibitions and is a frequent lecturer for libraries, museums, and galleries. He is the author of many publications on Maynard Dixon and other historic and contemporary artists, including a biography, The Life of Maynard Dixon, a companion to this newest publication. He lives in Davis, California.

Desert dreams, the art and life of Maynard Dixon

The Art of Maynard Dixon

The Life of Maynard Dixon

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