Lockwood de Forest at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum

‘Lighting the Way’ Offers More Than Two Dozen Works by de Forest

California Sunset, Santa Barbara, 1923. Oil on canvas. Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Gift of Oswald and Kathleen Da Ros. | Credit: Bill Dewey

By Charles Donelan
Tue May 03, 2022 | 10:52am

It’s your last chance to see this excellent exhibit of oil paintings by Lockwood de Forest this weekend. Dedicated Kathleen and Oswald Da Ros and mainly drawn from their collection, Lighting the Way shows the great precursor of the Santa Barbara school of plein air painting at the height of his powers. In addition to multiple strong examples of the artist’s familiar small works, there are several commanding large canvases saturated with light and color. The artist’s gift for elevating the area’s natural beauty created the cult of Santa Barbara beautiful that painters and residents worship to this day.

Coastal Eucalyptus at Sunset, Santa Barbara, February 1913. Oil on board. Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Gift of Oswald and Kathleen Da Ros. | Credit: Bill Dewey
Foothills, December 9, 1911. Oil on board. Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Gift of Oswald and Kathleen Da Ros. | Credit: Bill Dewey