Heather James Fine Art, celebrating its 20th anniversary, continues its tradition of celebrating California Impressionists with the latest exhibition, California Impressionism, on view through May. The exhibition showcases bright, optimistic paintings that changed the course of the prevailing art style of the early 20th century, while uniquely highlighting some of the women of this movement.

Many American Impressionists traveled to France to study with the French Impressionists, and when returning to the United States found that California provided the most similar lighting and colors to the French Riviera and countryside. California Impressionism flourished as a distinct subset of American Impressionism, depicting the state’s exceptional beauty with a focus on coastlines, canyons, deserts, forests, and mountains. The works in the exhibition are of beautiful figurative and landscape scenes, and as a whole represent this historical movement. Artists represented include John Frost, Joseph Kleitsch, Jessie Arms Botke, Gehring Cressey, Paul Lauritz, John Marshall Gamble, Millard Sheets, and Jack Wilkinson Smith. 

In addition to bringing museum quality exhibitions to the community, Heather James Fine Art is recognized for presenting incredible artworks by Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei, and Fernando Botero, among many others. Notable artworks that have been sold through the gallery include paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, several Monet paintings, a masterpiece by Henri Matisse (which achieved the highest price ever paid at auction), cubist Picasso paintings, a Paul Cezanne still life, and a Frida Kahlo self-portrait.

While the original gallery opened as Heather James Art & Antiquities, it transitioned to Heather James Fine Art in 2008. The gallery today offers a rare look into art history’s past and present featuring a wide breadth of genres including Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, Contemporary, American, Latin American, and Old Master art. 

Heather James Fine Art is located at 45188 Portola Avenue in Palm Desert. Hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on Sunday. For more information, please visit www.heatherjames.com, contact James Carona at jim@heatherjames.com, or call the gallery at 760-346-8926.