| Date: | said to be undated, probably 1880-1886 |
| Medium: | oil on canvas, lined |
| Size: | 20 x 36 in (51 x 91 cm) |
| Inscription: | l/r "F. Schafer S.F.", in the artist's characteristic block-letter hand |
| Provenance: | With Willoughby-Toschi Gallery, San Francisco, in 1971. With Garzoli Gallery, San Francisco, California, 1975. |
| Exhibited: | California Landscape Painting, 1860–1885, Palo Alto, California, 1975-76. |
| Reproductions: | Stanford University Visual Collection 76Q.115 (color, 1976); Early California and Western Art Research/Schafer slide #33 (color, 1976); Garzoli Gallery transparency (color, undated); William K. Dick photo #48 (color, 1971) |
| Citations: | 1975 exhibition catalog, #6, page 50; Inventory of American Paintings… record 71067155; |
| Site: | The Early California and Western Art Research index questions the location suggested by the title--at no place does Mount Tamalpais come this close to a body of water. Unfortunately, the mountain is obscured by fog, so its distinctive profile can't help clear up the question. |
| Description: | A grassy field with brown and white cows and several small ponds. Beyond the field, two dark, bushy trees; lighter Eucalyptus trees stand further beyond on the left. On the right beyond the field is an inlet with two sailboats, and beyond it a mountain rises to the right, disappearing into the fog above. A very light and airy painting. (From a color photograph.) |
| Note: | Miller, in the exhibition catalog, describes the composition as casual and the colors as high-keyed, similar to works of Julian Rix. Miller suggests a date in the mid-1880's. The initials "S.F." following the signature suggest that the painting was executed during the period 1880-1886, when Schafer had a studio in San Francisco. |
| Identification: | The descriptive title is from the Inventory of American Paintings, which identifies Garzoli as the informant; the exhibition catalog identifies Garzoli as the collector. The reported sizes are identical, the exhibition catalog date of "mid-1880s" is consistent with the Inventory date of "c 1880", and the titles are consistent, so the two reports are probably of the same painting. The Early California and Western Art Research index identifies the slide with the 1975 exhibition and with Garzoli. |
| Other title(s): | Mount Tamalpais viewed across an inlet--Richardson's Bay? (1975 Exhibition); Richardson Bay (Garzoli Gallery records) |
| In index(es): | Title list, Mount Tamalpais, pastoral and rural scenes, twenty representative works by the artist |
![[photo]](../smalls/p/img0301.jpg)