The masterworks in The Redfern Gallery Summer Collection represent some of the finest paintings found in the continually expanding and dynamic market of American paintings. Found here are radiant paintings of radiant landscapes and exquisite figurative works.  All are images of intrinsic beauty and harmony that are superb examples of American painting at its finest.

These notable paintings are currently on exhibition in the beautifully recreated Redfern Gallery with its recently completed renovation, new look and feel.  The gallery reflects the dedication and expertise that Ray Redfern has shown in his thirty-two years of experience bringing the finest in American Impressionism to museums, public and private collections. 

The artists featured in this collection were participants in the rich history and development of American Art.  It is easy to explain the intense interest in American paintings of this type. The transformation of American Art has come full circle: from the luminosity of the Hudson River painters, through Impressionism to Modernism to Contemporary Realism and a revival of plein air painting.

It is the mission of The Redfern Gallery to provide art expertise and knowledge with the goal of representing the highest quality in art.  It is with great pleasure that The Redfern Gallery presents this Summer Collection of important historical paintings that represent a significant place in the history of American painting.

Born in 1864 in Baltimore, Maryland, Elmer Wachtel relocated to California when he was eighteen years old to live with his older brother in Los Angeles, who had married the sister of artist Guy Rose and was managing the Rose family’s Sunny Slope Ranch. During this time he taught himself to play the violin proficiently, and began to cultivate a talent in painting and drawing. Wachtel saved his money to move to New York in 1900 and enroll in the Art Students League, under William Merritt Chase. Wachtel’s lifelong disdain for artists’ organizations was perhaps what compelled him to resign from the League after a short time, but he continued to exhibit and work in the city, periodically taking his latest work to Chase for critique. A year of study in London followed, and Wachtel returned to Southern California, the land he loved, selling paintings out of the small studio he had built in Los Angeles while earning income as a professional violinist.

Elmer Wachtel married Marion Kavanaugh in 1904 and the two became a premier artist couple traveling Southern California and the Southwest in an old Ford, on horseback and on foot through wilderness trails. As husband and wife, the pair was admired for their unique yet unmistakably connected styles, each regarded individually as a true master of landscape painting.  "Through the Trees, Arroyo" is one of Elmer Wachtel's prime paintings.  This is a sensitive composition in which radiant sunlight and dusky shadows coexist in elegant quietude, accentuating the unique light effects and brilliant jewel tones of the California landscape.