'Desert Echoes' by Louis Siegriest, 1961, Society of Six, Bay Area Abstraction, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Description

Signed lower left, 'Siegriest' for Louis Bassi Siegriest (American, 1899-1989) and dated 1961; additionally signed, verso, dated and titled, 'Desert … more Signed lower left, 'Siegriest' for Louis Bassi Siegriest (American, 1899-1989) and dated 1961; additionally signed, verso, dated and titled, 'Desert Echoes'.

Louis Siegriest studied under Frank Van Sloun and established a studio in Oakland, California, where he was a member of the Society of Six alongside Selden Connor Gile, August Gay, Maurice Logan, Bernard von Eichman, and William H. Clapp. He began his career as an Impressionist and later became an Abstract Expressionist. In addition to his career as a fine artist, Siegriest worked occasionally as a commercial artist in the 20's and 30's, and taught at the San Francisco Art Students League from 1948-1951. He often exhibited his work with his son, Lundy Siegriest, who predeceased him.

Louis Siegriest exhibited widely and with success including with the Society of Six (Oakland Art Gallery, 1923-1928), at the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939), Gump's Gallery (1931, 1933, 1946), Crocker Art Gallery (1946), de Young Museum (1952), Whitney Museum (1973), and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (1958). His work is held in the permanent collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Reference:
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, page 3028; Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 2, page 1021; Mallett’s Index of Artists, Supplement, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, Peter Smith: New York 1948 Edition, R.R. Bowker Company 1940, page 257; et al. less