HANSON PUTHUFF (1875-1972)
Sandstone Peak or Mount Allen (949 m - 3,114 feet)
United States of America (California)
In Mount Allen, oil on canvas, 1920, 1930,1950
The mountain
Sandstone Peak (949 m- 3,114 feet ) also known as Mount Allen, is a mountain in Ventura County, California, and the highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains. Located near the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the summit provides panoramic views of Malibu, The Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica, the Conejo Valley, and four of the Channel Islands. The Sandstone Peak Trail, which leads to the top, connects to a vast trail system in the area, including the Backbone Trail. The mountain is highly popular with climbers, hikers, campers, and photographers.
The Boy Scouts of America petitioned the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to name the mountain for W. Herbert Allen who had donated land for nearby Camp Circle X and other Boy Scout camps. He served as president of the Los Angeles Area Council. The board denied the request because of a long-standing policy not to approve a geographic name in commemoration of a living person. The land is now known as the Circle X Ranch, a park unit located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Sandstone Peak can be climbed all year. The best months probably are October through June with clearer views. Summer tends to be quite hot despite the proximity to the Pacific Ocean.There are two main trails to the summit. The Sandstone Peak Trail, which starts from the Sandstone Peak trailhead off Yerba Buena Road about one mile east from the Circle X Ranch main house. This trail is about 3 miles roundtrip with ~ 1,100 feet of elevation gain. The second, longer, trail is the Mishe Mokwa Trail, which is about 6 miles roundtrip and a total of ~ 1,400 feet elevation gain. The trailhead is a short distance further east from the Sandstone Peak trailhead on Yerba Buena Road. Both trails are in very good condition and well maintained. To reach the summit of Sandstone Peak a short but fun scramble over reddish, volcanic rocks (not exceeding class 2) is necessary.
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The Painter
Hanson Duvall Puthuff was a landscape painter and muralist, born in Waverly, Missouri. Puthuff studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Colorado in 1889 to study at University of Denver Art School. He traveled to Los Angeles in 1903 and for 23 years worked as a commercial artist painting billboards while painting landscapes in his leisure. In 1926, he abandoned commercial art and devote full-time to fine art and exhibitions. He is nationally famous for his lyric interpretations of the Southern California deserts.
Puthuff was one of the cofounders of the California Art Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association. He won awards in 1909 from the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, a bronze medal at the Paris Salon in 1914, and two silver medals from the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. His works are exhibited in, among other places, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, and Bowers Museum. Many of his works are also cataloged in the Smithsonian American Art Museum art inventory. Puthuff died in Corona del Mar on May 12, 1972.
In 2007, the Pasadena Museum of California Art featured California Colors: Hanson Puthuff, the first solo museum exhibition of his work. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Museum republished the artist's autobiography.
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