AUGUST GAY () adj etching "Stevenson House" Monterey by key California artist
A rare opportunity to acquire a labor by the adj California artist AUGUST GAY (): an etching on delicate thin tissue-like document, apparently unsigned, the sheet 5 7/8" by 8 1/8" (9 3/4" by 10 3/4" in black strip frame). The subject is the historic aged Stevenson House in old Monterey, a favorite subject of many artists. August Gay is considered a major California artist, one of the members of the "Society of Six", a tiny group which formed in the adj 's as a reaction against more traditional painting summarized by William Keith and Arthur Mathews. The members promoted a new style of painting focusing on bright, Fauve-like colors and impressionist technique. Selden Gile led the group, the works of whom today take very large sums at auctions. Gay was born nearby Gap, in southeastern France, and came to Alameda, California with his family as a youngster, After education at the California Educational facility of Arts and Crafts and the California School of Fine Arts, and working closely with Gile, Gay struck
One of the last residents of the Stevenson House was the California Impressionist painter August François Gay. Called “Gus”, Gay lived and had a studio in the building from the preceding s. Gay is known for his membership the Oakland-based Society of Six painters. After he moved to Monterey, members of the Society would check in him, talk art, review their recent work, and adore Gay’s Bohemian life style. See the illustration above, &#;The Party&#;, a block print by artist Helen Bruton. Gus Gay is attending to the register player, and the three Bruton sisters are dancing.
During the hard times of the depression, and especially after his marriage in , Gay’s painting was chiefly for commission. A notable function of this day is the Works Progress Administration commissioned mural painting Fishermanfor the Old Customs House, Monterey, which for some age was displayed in the Stevenson House, and more recently at Casa Gutierrez. At the same moment to earn a more reliable living, Gay turned to other crafts, woodworking and decoration, on his
August Gay().
August Gay was born in Rabou, France. &#;Gus&#; Gay arrived in the U.S. about and settled in Alameda, CA. He attended night classes at the CSFA and CCAC. His roommate, Selden Gile, had a strong shape on his imaginative growth, and the two artists were the first of a group that becomes known as the Society of Six. Although he lived in Monterey after , he was still an active member of the Six and regularly exhibited them at the Oakland Art Gallery until Gay supported himself during the Depression as an employee of the local fish factories and Oliver&#;s Frame Shop. While in Monterey, he shared a studio with Clayton S. Price in the Stevenson Dwelling. During the last ten years of his life, he was a furniture designer and custom framer for the Monterey Guild (the furniture in the San Juan Bautista Mission is from his shop) and lived on the Monterey Peninsula until his death on March 9, Many of his August Gay&#;s oils were painted on cigar box tops. His interpretations of the Carmel Valley, coastal scenes, and the f
August Gay "Monterey Wharf" 5 x 7 inches, oil on board. Available!