The plein-air style was the most popular art style in the southern California art community from about 1895 to 1930. The California Art Club, founded in 1909 and still very active today, was made up exclusively of traditional-style painters and sculptors. Major annual exhibitions held at the Los Angeles Museum of Art and History accepted only work in traditional representational styles. So strong was the domination of the landscape painters on early twentieth century art that anyone not painting in that manner was, in effect, considered an "Outsider."

However, by the mid-1920's, American art experienced a series of dramatic transformations that would reach all the way to California. Gone were the classic compositions of the plein air painters. A new generation of artists turned to newer styles, characterized by a move away from the traditional, toward more progressive approaches to painting. European inspired Modernism, first shown in New York in 1913 at the momentous International Exhibition of Modern Art, better known as the Armory Show, found ready converts among this new generation of artists.

Among the artists that will be represented in "The Outsiders" are Emil Kosa, Jr. (1903-1968), Paul Lauritz (1889-1975), Frank Myers (1899-1956), Phil Paradise (1905-1997), Henrietta Shore (1880-1963), and Hamilton A. Wolf (1883-1967).

Exhibit opens May 27th and continues through September 19, 2009

The Irvine Museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of California art of the Impressionist Period (1890-1930). Open: Tuesday through Saturday, 11-5. Admission is free and we validate parking. For recorded information and direction: 949-476-2565. www.irvinemuseum.org