LE CANYON DE CHELLY PEINT PAR EDGAR ALWIN PAYNE

 

 

EDGAR ALWIN PAYNE (1883-1947)
Canyon de Chelly / Spyder Rock  (300 m - 984ft)
Etats -Unis (Arizona)

In Sunset, Canyon de Chelly (1916), huile sur toile 71.1 x 81.3 cm, Collection privée

Le canyon
Le Monument national du Canyon de Chelly (300 m - 984ft)  est  situé dans l'État de l'Arizona, au sud-ouest des États-Unis. Le mot « Chelly » est une déformation anglaise du mot navajo « tseqi », qui signifie « canyon rocheux ». Il est au milieu d'une grande réserve Navajo. Il a la forme d'un Y, creusé verticalement dans les lits de grès par deux arroyos : Tsaile Creek et Whiskey Creek qui se joignent pour former le Rio de Chelly. Il s'étend sur 40 kilomètres. Depuis le nord-est, le canyon del Muerto, long de 50 kilomètres, le rejoint à Chinle. Ce canyon encore habité présente de belles formations rocheuses et abrite des habitats troglodytes d'anciens Indiens Pueblos. Quelques familles de fermiers Navajos s'y sont réinstallées, cultivant maïs et haricots et élevant des moutons. Parmi les formations rocheuses les plus spectaculaires, Spider Rock, aiguille de 244 m de haut surplombant le canyon.

Le peintre
Edgar Alwin Payne est sans conteste l'un des peintres de plein air californiens les plus doués de son temps. Alors que ses contemporains privilégiaient une représentation calme et idyllique des paysages naturels, Payne leur préférait leur beauté sauvage. Largement autodidacte, il a trouvé son inspiration et a fait son éducation artistique  dans la nature elle-même. Ses paysages majestueux  inspirés par son respect de la  nature, sont imprégnés d'une force intérieure et d'un dynamisme qui parlent à toutes les générations. Ayant décidé, jeune homme, de devenir peintre, Edgar Payne part pour l' Europe de 1922 à 1924 où, sous l’influence de l’impressionnisme français, il peint et expose. Il peint des bateaux de pêche en Bretagne, des villages et les Alpes en Suisse, les bateaux de pêche de Chioggia, à Venise.  De retour aux Etats unis, il  a été parmi les premiers peintres à capturer la force de la Sierra Nevada. Ses voyages à travers le grand ouest  américain ont produit  des représentations tout aussi magnifiques du désert. Sa quête sans fin pour transmettre "l'indiciblement sublime" de ses paysages lui a valu une large reconnaissance - un critique éminent l'a qualifié de ""poète qui chante en couleurs". Edgar Payne a eu une longue carrière réussie aux États-Unis où il a peint des Indiens à cheval en Arizona, des lacs de montagne en Californie et des paysages côtiers en Californie du sud. Il a vécu de nombreuses années à Laguna Beach avant sa mort.

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2022 - Wandering Vertexes ....
            Errant au-dessus des Sommets Silencieux...
            Un blog de Francis Rousseau

TIOGA PEAK PAINTED BY EDGAR PAYNE

 

EDGAR PAYNE (1883-1947)
Tioga Peak  (3,513 m - 11,526 ft)  

United States of America (California) 

The mountain
Tioga Peak (3,513 m - 11,526 ft)   is technically outside of Yosemite National Park, a bit north-north-east of Tioga Pass. It is in the Inyo National Forest. Tioga Peak is north of Tioga Pass, at the head of Lee Vining Canyon. Highway 120 goes direct past its south and east slopes. It is easily accessible, a class 1 to class 2 scramble, from Gardisky Lake. The summit is like a rolling dome. It has some of the best views of the Tioga Pass region. Both Mount Dana and Tioga Pass are visible, from the summit.
Tioga Peak is a rounded peak, made of metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth's crust and form 12% of the Earth's land surface.  They are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage (metamorphic facies).

The painter 

Edgar Alwin Payne was an American Western landscape painter and muralist. He made his way to California for the first time in 1909, at the age of 26. He spent several months painting at Laguna Beach, then headed to San Francisco. In San Francisco he met other artists, including commercial artist Elsie Palmer (1884–1971). On  November 1912, Edgar married Elsie  Palmer.  As a couple they became well known in Chicago's art circle. Between 1915 and 1918-19, Edgar maintained a professional address in Chicago at the Tree Studio Building on East Ohio Street.

He earned his first major commission in 1917. In a bid to attract tourism, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad asked him to paint the Southwest, along the railroads' trek from Albuquerque to California. This commission not only solidified his reputation as an artist, it also forever linked him to Western America. Although he painted in Europe, he is most remembered for his work from the Four Corners area of the Navajo Nation Reservation, Yosemite, and the California coast. This area, from Taos, New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, became one of Payne's two main inspirations for the next twenty years.
The Santa Fe Railroad commissions were the turn of the century brainchild of William H. Simpson, chief of the railway's advertising department. Starting in 1892, with Thomas Moran, Simpson exchanged travel on the train, along with lodging at railroad hotels and meals at railroad restaurants, and sometimes even cash, for paintings, photographs, pottery, and jewelry. This endeavor lasted for decades and made the Santa Fe one of the largest collectors of southwestern fine art.
His lifelong obsession with the Sierras would lead him to produce a documentary film, “Sierra Journey”. In 1941 he wrote "Composition of Outdoor Painting", a comprehensive book on composition and composition forms. The book also explains landscape painting techniques, color, repetition, rhythm, and value. The seventh edition printing of the work was completed in 2005.

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2020 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

MOUNT LYELL PAINTED BY EDGAR PAYNE

EDGAR PAYNE (1883-1947)

Mount Lyell (3, 999m - 13, 120ft) 

 United States of America (California)

In Sierra Nevada, Oil on canvas, Private collection  

The mountain

Mount Lyell  (3, 999m - 13, 120ft) is the highest point in Yosemite National Park. It is located at the southeast end of the Cathedral Range, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northwest of Rodgers Peak. The peak as well as nearby Lyell Canyon is named after Charles Lyell, a well-known 19th century geologist. The peak had one of the last remaining glaciers in Yosemite, Lyell Glacier. The Lyell Glacier is currently considered to be a permanent ice field, not a living glacier. Mount Lyell divides the Tuolumne River watershed to the north, the Merced to the west, and the Rush Creek drainage in the Mono Lake Basin to the southeast.

The closest and most popular trailhead is at Tuolumne Meadows, off US120. Just east of the Tuolumne Meadows campground, there is a turnoff for the Tuolumne Lodge and Wilderness Permits. Pass the large lot for Wilderness permits (unless you need to get one!), and drive past the Ranger Station on the left side of the road. Before you reach the Tuolumne Lodge, there is a large parking lot on the left side. There are bear boxes there that you can leave food items that you do not take with you. Use them! Bears are rampant in these parts and will happily destroy your car to get a meal.

The trailhead is on the south side of the road, opposite the parking lot.

Alternatively, you can approach Mt. Lyell from the east via Rush Creek at Silver Lake Resort (near June Mtn Ski area) or Agnews Meadow near Mammoth Lakes (this is the longer of the two). Take the JMT to Donohue Pass to reach the Lyell Fork drainage. From a map it may be enticing to try approaching from the east via Marie Lakes instead of Donohue Pass, but be warned this is a class 4 route, and will certainly take longer. These routes are longer than approaching from Tuolumne Meadows and require more elevation gain. 

Climbing is usually done May-Oct when the Tioga Road (US120) through Tuolumne Meadows is open. After Oct 15 the road is sometimes open, but overnight parking is no longer permitted.

The painter 

Edgar Alwin Payne was an American Western landscape painter and muralist. He made his way to California for the first time in 1909, at the age of 26. He spent several months painting at Laguna Beach, then headed to San Francisco. In San Francisco he met other artists, including commercial artist Elsie Palmer (1884–1971). On  November 1912, Edgar married Elsie  Palmer.  As a couple they became well known in Chicago's art circle. Between 1915 and 1918-19, Edgar maintained a professional address in Chicago at the Tree Studio Building on East Ohio Street.

He earned his first major commission in 1917. In a bid to attract tourism, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad asked him to paint the Southwest, along the railroads' trek from Albuquerque to California. This commission not only solidified his reputation as an artist, it also forever linked him to Western America. Although he painted in Europe, he is most remembered for his work from the Four Corners area of the Navajo Nation Reservation, Yosemite, and the California coast. This area, from Taos, New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, became one of Payne's two main inspirations for the next twenty years.
The Santa Fe Railroad commissions were the turn of the century brainchild of William H. Simpson, chief of the railway's advertising department. Starting in 1892, with Thomas Moran, Simpson exchanged travel on the train, along with lodging at railroad hotels and meals at railroad restaurants, and sometimes even cash, for paintings, photographs, pottery, and jewelry. This endeavor lasted for decades and made the Santa Fe one of the largest collectors of southwestern fine art.
His lifelong obsession with the Sierras would lead him to produce a documentary film, “Sierra Journey”. In 1941 he wrote "Composition of Outdoor Painting", a comprehensive book on composition and composition forms. The book also explains landscape painting techniques, color, repetition, rhythm, and value. The seventh edition printing of the work was completed in 2005.