Did You Know? Santa Barbara was an Art Colony of Outsize Importance in the Early West
The Voice recently published an article about the recent Launch, Lunch and Learn event May 29, 2025, Art Collection at Santa Barbara Club, by Jeremy Tessmer, Gallery Director, Sullivan Goss, speaker and author. The event was extremely well received. In addition to lunch and the illustrated talk, all attendees received a copy of the book.
Read the article is on page 21 of Voice Magazine
By Katherine Murray-Morse
Jeremy Tessmer, Gallery Director at Sullivan Goss, regaled a packed audience of eighty at the Santa Barbara Club Thursday May 29 with stories of early artists who traveled West. Some came for free on the Santa Fe Railroad, which sponsored them in exchange for illustrations to publicize the ‘lore’ of the West and encourage people to visit. A number of these early artists’ works are in the collection at the Santa Barbara Club, the oldest private club in Santa Barbara, founded in 1892.
The Art Foundation of Santa Barbara, a non-profit whose mission is to bring awareness to art and artists of Santa Barbara County and S. California, asked Mr. Tessmer to create a book capturing the history and significance of key artists – past and present - in the collection. It was a year in the making.
Guests enjoyed a gourmet lunch at the Santa Barbara Club, followed by Mr. Tessmer’s illustrated talk “How Do We Tell Our Story?” with each attendee receiving a richly illustrated book, The Art Collection at Santa Barbara Club.
Attendees included Santa Barbara Club members, members of Montecito Bank & Trust MClub, friends of the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara and community, students from VADA (Visual Art and Design Academy) at Santa Barbara High School and several living artists including Patricia Chidlaw, whose work is in the collection.
Art Foundation Trustee John Doordan welcomed attendees with Frank McGinity, President and fellow Trustees Katherine Murray-Morse, Maria McCall and board president emeritus Keith Moore. John Doordan commented that Mr. Tessmer, with his knowledge of early Santa Barbara art history, was uniquely qualified to spearhead this project and thanked Linda Spann, Manager of the Santa Barbara Club, Katherine Murray-Morse and Maria McCall for their joint efforts. Katherine followed with remarks urging those present to consider supporting the ongoing care involved in maintaining a collection with the analogy that “a collection like a garden does not maintain itself.” Trustee Maria McCall, prior to introducing Jeremy, presented a check to VADA program director Daniel Barnett, for a recent two-day workshop by local artist Derek Harrison for 15 VADA students about portrait painting and developing a working career as an artist. (Funds for the workshop are from a grant by the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation to the Art Foundation).
Jeremy’s illustrated talk, a highlight of the event, revealed that Santa Barbara had been an art colony of “outsize” importance relative to its size in the early 20th century, attracting known artists from the East Coast. Among those were Carl Sammons, Fernand Lungren, Alexander Harmer along with Henry Chapman Ford (who painted the California missions) and western artists such as Edward Borein, based in Santa Barbara. There are twenty-four pen and ink drawings from Chapman Ford as well as early Edward Borein etchings in the collection. Later, Tessmer added, artist Ray Strong tied landscapes to conservation efforts and founded the OAK group. He referenced several contemporary artists in the collection, many members of the OAK group, plein air artists, including Meredith Brooks Abbott, Whitney Abbott, Richard Schloss, Glenna Hartmann, Thomas Van Stein, Ray Hunter, John Iwerks, Ann Sanders, along with Patricia Chidlaw and well-known local landscape artist Ralph Waterhouse.
Among the art lovers turning out were:
Frank McGinity, Maria McCall, Katherine Murray-Morse, John Doordan, Toni and Al Amorteguy, Peggy Wiley, Wilson Quarre, Sarah Pelton, Keith Moore, Marilyn Sullivan, Jill Sattler, Rebecca Brand, Daniel Barnett, Carla Ammusen, Gillian Launie, Thomas Craveiro, Anne Luther
Left to right: Keith Moore, Katherine Murray-Morse, Jeremy Tessmer, Author, Maria McCallPhoto. Credit: Dirk Brandts.
Photo Left to right: Daniel Barnett, VADA Program Director; author Jeremy Tessmer; AFOSB President Frank McGinity; trustees Katherine Murray-Morse, John Doordan, Maria McCall, and Linda Span. Photo credit: Dirk Brandts.
Jeremy Tessmer presenting. Photo credit: Jill Sattler.