Donna Schuster - Construction Work beneath Tower of Jewels

Donna Schuster (1883-1953)

Winning the silver medal for the painting Construction Work Beneath the Tower of Jewels at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition was an honor for the California Impressionist artist. Schuster was awarded two more silver medals there and went on to become one of the most highly acclaimed painters. Donna Norine Schuster was born in Milwaukee, WI on Jan. 6, 1883, the daughter of a wealthy cigar manufacturer. Schuster studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Boston Museum School under Tarbell and Benson. In 1912 she joined William M. Chase on a painting tour of Belgium and, after her move to Southern California the next year she again studied with Chase in his summer class in Carmel.

In 1923 she built a home in the Los Angeles hills overlooking Griffith Park at 1229 West 37th Drive where she spent her remaining years. During the 1920s Schuster taught at Otis Art Institute and was active as an organizer and exhibitor in several artists’ groups. Her subject matter included harbor scenes, landscapes, figure studies and Cezannesque water lilies in both oil and watercolor. Her early works show the influence of Monet and Chase. However, having studied with Stanton MacDonald-Wright during her later years, she experimented with various modern idioms including Cubism and Abstract Expressionism. Member: California Art Club (cofounder); Society of Independent Artists; West Coast Arts Club; California Watercolor Society (president); Laguna Beach Art Association; Women Painters of the West (cofounder). Exhibited: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1914, 1917, 1920, 1927 (with Mabel Alvarez), 1929 ( with Elanor Colburn); New York Academy of Fine Art; New York Watercolor Society (President); American Watercolor Society; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Golden Gate International Exhibition, 1939; San Francisco Art Association. Works held: Downey, CA, Museum of Art; Laguna Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Oakland Museum; Fleischer Museum, Scottsdale, AZ; The Irvine Museum, Irvine, CA.