At the turn of the last century, movements such as Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau gained international recognition. Moving from England and Continental Europe to the United States, they influenced everything from architecture to painting to interior design. But on the West Coast of the U.S., there was another sensibility stirring—a regional celebration of classical forms of beauty played out against the sublime landscape of northern California.
Arthur Mathews and Lucia Mathews created the California Decorative Style—an all-encompassing aesthetic featuring golden-hued palettes, striking images of iconic beauty and the portrayal of the romantic possibilities of the area surrounding San Francisco Bay. Classically trained painters with a modernist approach, the couple embraced the idea of “art for art’s sake,” engendering a world of orange California poppies, winged knights atop opalescent steeds and Arcadian maidens dancing amid groves of mighty cypress trees.
Moving beyond the picture plane to the elaborate carving of frames and the embellishment of furniture, ceramics, stained glass, textiles and lamps, the couple became a major force in the early 1900s, while remaining largely unknown outside the state.
Arthur’s easel paintings and murals drew upon classical subjects and mythology imbued with the promise of bountiful lands, productive agriculture, breathtaking vistas and a commitment to the furthering of the arts and sciences. Lucia painted children’s portraits in muted colors with diffused light, as well as landscapes and botanicals; her skill as a carver and decorative artist was renowned in early twentieth-century San Francisco.
Back in California, Arthur resumed teaching while continuing to work on monochromatic pieces. His mural, “The Arts of Peace,” was created as an “endless frieze” for the library of the home of prominent resident Horace Hill. The success of this mural brought Arthur not only recognition but commissions from the social elite.
Then the earthquake and fire changed the scale of their ambition. Beauty was no longer simply something to paint, carve or furnish. It became part of an argument about what a rebuilt city might be.
