Los Angeles, CA – Bonhams is pleased to announce its fall California Art sale, which showcases the state's natural wonder as a central theme that distinguishes the category. Comprised of 122 lots, the November 23 sale in Los Angeles features an array of outstanding landscape paintings that reflect the major art historical movements of the 19th and 20th century. Leading artists represented include Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971), John Frost (1890-1937), Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Arthur Putman (1873-1930), and William Wendt (1865-1946).

Headlining the live sale is Live Oaks ($250,000 - $350,000) by John Frost (1890-1937), a painting that exemplifies the artist's brilliant command of light and shadow through Impressionistic dabs of bright lavenders, greens and browns. Live Oaks comes together to create a rich surface that dazzles the viewer's eye as only the best painters of the day could. Despite success and recognition in his lifetime, Frost's artistic output was limited due to poor health and rigorous standards. Executed in one of his largest formats, the present work is considered rare by virtue of its size and market scarcity. The present lot has held the auction record as the most expensive painting sold at auction by John Frost since 2004.

Bonhams Director of California and Western Art, Scot Levitt, commented: "John Frost's masterpiece Live Oaks captures the true spirit of what California Impressionism is all about. High-key colours and wispy dabs of brushwork capture the essence of the California experience. It would be difficult to imagine this scene as anywhere but Southern California. There is a distinct light and colour that identifies the location and early artists such as John Frost took the Impressionist style and made it their own."

Another outstanding highlight is Decoration (US $60,000 - 80,000) by Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971) who has been celebrated for her highly-decorated and stylized depictions of exotic birds, particularly peacocks and cockatoos. Decoration is a bravura display of her inimitable style and ability to synthesise artistic influences from 19th Century British illustrations, Edo period Japanese folding screens, and 17th Century Flemish still life painters.

Arthur Putman, The Mermaid. Estimate: US$50,000 - 70,000.
Also included is Arthur Putnam's (1873-1930) The Mermaid (US$ 50,000 - 70,000), an historically important and rare American bronze sculpture. This work served as the model for the major fountain at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition and the only other known example of this iconic piece is in the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

William Wendt's (1865-1946) The Oak ($40,000-60,000) from The Estate of Joan Oliver Shore, Vermont, reflects the artist's deep spiritual connection to nature. The Oak was painted in Wendt's first decade visiting Southern California and honours the quiet beauty of the region. Here, the humble and ubiquitous native oak is elevated to heroic proportions, with its massive branches silhouetted against the sky, casting a sun-dappled shadow for the viewer's delight. The Oak is Wendt's ode to California and its dazzling light effects and colour, captured through lively brushwork and impasto.

Featured as well among the top lots is Matterhorn ($50,000-70,000) by Edgar Payne (1883-1947). Payne's depictions of glacial mountains became the artist's trademark and thrust him into the international spotlight as a master of California plein-air landscape painting in the early 20th century. In Matterhorn Payne captures the wonder of this iconic peak with bold Impressionistic brushwork and clarity of the high-altitude light the artist was so familiar with.

Held in conjunction with the California Art live sale, a timed online auction of California and Western Art, comprised of over 200 lots, will run from November 20 - December 3 to bidders worldwide on www.bonhams.com and the Bonhams app.

San Francisco Preview
Friday, November 12, 12 to 5pm
Saturday, November 13, 12 to 5pm
Sunday, November 14, 12 to 5pm

Los Angeles Preview
Friday November 19, 10 to 5pm
Saturday November 20, 12 to 5pm
Sunday November 21, 12 to 5pm
Monday November 22, 10 to 5pm

15 November