DONNA SCHUSTER (1883-1953)
35. Breakfast for One
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left
25 x 30 inches
34 x 39 framed
Provenance:
Estate of Artist
Exhibited:
Los Angeles County Museum, 1948 Annual Exhibition
Donna Norine Schuster was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 6, 1883. She was the daughter of a wealthy cigar manufacture and fortunate to be able to attend the finest schools. Schuster studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Boston Museum School under Edmund Tarbell (1862-1938) and Frank Benson (1862-1951). In 1912, she went to Belgium to study with William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) and was awarded a medal from this renowned teacher. Chase had a profound influence on Donna Schuster. She would again study with him, this time in Carmel, California, 1914.
Donna Schuster had relocated to California in 1911. In 1923 she built a home in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Griffith Park. During the 1920’s Schuster taught at Otis Art Institute and was active as an organizer/exhibitor in several artists’ groups.
Donna Schuster’s subject matter included harbor scenes, still life’s, landscapes, figurative and water lilies, in both oil and watercolor. She was greatly inspired by both Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Paul Cezanne (1839-1906). However, the modernist style of Stanton MacDonald-Wright (1890-1973), that was prevalent in 1928, changed her painting style forever. It was during the 1930’s to 1940’s that she experimented with various modern idioms, including Cubism and Abstract Expressionism.
Works held:
The Irvine Museum;
The Fleischer Collection, Arizona; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Oakland
Museum; Laguna Art Museum.
The Redfern Gallery
1540 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 T: (949) 497-3356 F: (949) 497-1324 mail@redferngallery.com
at the Montage Resort and Spa
30801 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 T: (949) 715-6193