LUNGREN, Fernand

Date

n.d.

Creator

Lungren, Fernand
b. United States, 1857-1932

Fernand Harvey Lungren was among Santa Barbara’s most distinguished artists of the early twentieth century. Although he began his career as part of the circle of the American artist William Merritt Chase and spent an extended period in Paris where he was influenced by the work of James McNeill Whistler, it was Lungren’s journey to the American Southwest that most profoundly affected him. Sponsored by the Santa Fe Railroad which wished to commission images of the Southwest to entice eastern tourists, Lungren made his first excursions west in the early 1890s. By the 1920s, Lungren’s Santa Barbara studio became a center for the local arts scene where the artist displayed his Native American artifacts alongside canvases depicting the glowing, solitary beauty of the American desert.

It was Lungren’s intent that his collections be given to “people of the City of Santa Barbara” for public enjoyment and edification. In his will, the artist bequeathed his painting collection, a body of 188 paintings and 131 drawings, to the Santa Barbara Teachers’ College, the forerunner to the UC Santa Barbara, and his collection of Native American artifacts to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. It was Lungren’s wish that the gift of his collection “will result in as much pleasure to the community as I have in making it.”

Citation

Lungren, Fernandb. United States, 1857-1932 and Fernand Harvey Lungren was among Santa Barbara’s most distinguished artists of the early twentieth century. Although he began his career as part of the circle of the American artist William Merritt Chase and spent an extended period in Paris where he was influenced by the work of James McNeill Whistler, it was Lungren’s journey to the American Southwest that most profoundly affected him. Sponsored by the Santa Fe Railroad which wished to commission images of the Southwest to entice eastern tourists, Lungren made his first excursions west in the early 1890s. By the 1920s, Lungren’s Santa Barbara studio became a center for the local arts scene where the artist displayed his Native American artifacts alongside canvases depicting the glowing, solitary beauty of the American desert. It was Lungren’s intent that his collections be given to “people of the City of Santa Barbara” for public enjoyment and edification. In his will, the artist bequeathed his painting collection, a body of 188 paintings and 131 drawings, to the Santa Barbara Teachers’ College, the forerunner to the UC Santa Barbara, and his collection of Native American artifacts to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. It was Lungren’s wish that the gift of his collection “will result in as much pleasure to the community as I have in making it.”, “LUNGREN, Fernand,” UCSB ADA Museum Omeka, accessed November 22, 2024, http://art-collections.museum.ucsb.edu/items/show/3211.