Oakland Museum of California

Today the Oakland Museum is free, 'cause of Second Sundays. Not many people know about that. Most people know that First Tuesdays are free for San Francisco Museums. I had really planned to go to the Oakland Museum today, but I got sick. So I guess I'll just make another list of some of my favorites from their permanent collection. Okay, here we go:

First off, there's the Society of Six collection, WAAY in the back of the art floor. The Society of Six were a group of (six) plein-air painters based in Oakland in the 1920's. Back then Oakland was wide open space, but some of the places they painted are like half-a-mile away from me, like the rock quarry, which is now a man made "lake" behind Big Long's. Louis Seigreist, the youngest of the six, was born in 1906, right here at 5190 Miles, that's about half-a-mile away too - a really nice Victorian that, from the look of it, has been well taken care of. Some of my favorite little landscapes are from this group, they just punch you with their ease of brushstrokes and purity of pigments. Cobalt Blues, Cadmiums Reds and Oranges - YUM!

Then there's the Bay Area Figurative Collection which hosts the works of Nathan Oliviera, Richard Deibenkorn, David Park, Elmer Bischoff

Spring Nude by Nathan Oliviera is housed there:



This one is huge - but not monumental huge, just a good, big painting that doesn't feel too epic. There are also a lot of Nathan Oliveira works at the DeYoung, along with a couple of killer Bischoff's.

So get off your lazy ass and go to a museum. Next I will post one about a couple of Galleries I visited last Saturday, and one about the Ruth Asawa exhibit (now over) at the DeYoung... stay tuned