Arthur Mathews holding hands with a skeleton at his women’s painting class, circa 1900.

THE ÉCOLE DES BEAUX ARTS was the official art academy in Paris, but had strict entrance requirements and did not allow women to enroll. In contrast, the Académie Julian had no entrance requirements and women were welcome. As a matter of fact, one of the Julian’s several branches was reserved specifically for women. Furthermore, the Académie Julian astutely hired visiting professors from the École des Beaux Arts, and because of this fine instruction combined with the open enrollment policy, attracted students from all over the world, including many women.
From the very beginning of the twentieth century California experienced an influx of artists. Year round sunshine and vast open spaces lured many artists from around the United States and Europe who eventually settled predominantly in the areas of Pasadena, Laguna Beach, San Francisco and the Monterey Peninsula. California was a land of free thinkers, and women were accepted as individuals. Also in California, women were given voting rights nine years prior to the 1920 national ruling. It is very likely that during this time, there were more practicing women artists in California than anywhere else in the world.

By the early part of the 20th century a group of painters settled in Los Angeles and formed the Painters Club in 1906. Three years later, the Painters Club, which was restricted to men only, reorganized itself and became the California Art Club, primarily to allow women artists to join. The California Art Club soon became recognized as the most important art organization in southern California and a cultural force in Los Angeles during the city’s formative years.

A few notable women artists who served on the board of directors of the California Art Club (CAC) during its early years were Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1972), Kathryn W. Leighton (1876-1952), Elsie Palmer Payne (1884-1971), and Donna Norine Schuster (1883-1953). Another CAC member, Anna Althea Hills (1882-1930), who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Académie Julian, was a leader in California’s growing art movement. Miss Hills was a deeply religious woman and had a father and brother who were both Presbyterian ministers. Her landscape paintings exude the sensitive, spiritual reverence that she held for nature. Although she suffered from a severe spinal deformity, she managed to frequent remote mountainous areas to sketch. Anna Hills served for ten years as the Sunday school supervisor at the Laguna Presbyterian Church and lectured on art appreciation to various community groups. However, she made the greatest contribution to Laguna’s cultural makeup by founding the Laguna Beach Art Association where she served as president for six years (1922-25 and 1927-30). During her tenure Miss Hills founded the Association’s own permanent art gallery in 1929, which is now the Laguna Art Museum.

Donna Schuster was also involved in the founding of the Laguna Beach Art Association. Although she had a house built in the Los Angeles hills overlooking Griffith Park, she also bought a small house in the village of Laguna to be near its burgeoning art colony. Miss Schuster studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Boston Museum School under Impressionists, Edmund Tarbell (1862-1938) and Frank W. Benson (1862-1951). She furthered her education studying painting in Belgium on a summer tour led by the influential artist, William Merritt Chase (1848-1916). Schuster was especially active in Los Angeles during the 1920s when she served as an instructor at the Otis Art Institute and as founder of both the California Watercolor Society and the West Coast Arts, Inc. (now, Women Painters of the West). Schuster was among the most experimental women artists of California. Her work ranged from the academic-based impressionistic style favored by the Boston Ten to the more abstract interpretations of the Progressives, which included her delving into Cubism and Abstract Expressionism.

A unique California artist team was that of Jessie Arms Botke and husband, Cornelis J. Botke (1887-1954). The two worked simultaneously on mural projects, and although Jessie had the more dominant personality, she credit ed Cornelis for their successful teamwork. Jessie Botke’s highly successful canvases of exotic birds and flora are refined, elegant in line, and often made further opulent with her application of gold or silver leaf. By contrast, Mrs. Botke’s character was known to be bold and brash. In 1911 and 1912 she marched and demonstrated in New York City for the women’s suffragette parades. Later, she became a member of the controversial organization, Sanity in Art Society, which opposed aspects of the modern art movement.

Jessie Arms Botke  Ducks (1883­1971) Oil on canvas 24" x 27"

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