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Percy Gray

Paintings in Inventory

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Artist's Biography

Percy Gray studied at the California School of Design during the 1880s before launching into a career as a newspaper artist, first in San Francisco and then in New York. While in the East, he studied at the Art Students League and with William Merritt Chase. Gray returned to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and started exhibiting paintings for sale. His newspaper career had given him much practice in the fluid, spontaneous medium of watercolor, and it was as a watercolor painter that he established his reputation in San Francisco. He became known as one of the foremost interpreters of eucalyptus and oak trees depicted in foggy Coast Range landscapes. Gray also ventured into the mountains, visiting Yosemite Valley and Lake Tahoe. Our painting may portray a scene near Lake Tahoe, as it makes the same general impression as an undated Gray watercolor titled "A Bit of Tahoe" by the artist. Gray has skillfully employed impressionist brushstrokes of related gray and ochre tones to bring out the harmonies produced when the warm light of early evening is reflected off granite cliffs. Gray gave this work to Ray Schumann, a Los Angeles newspaper illustrator, probably in trade for one of Schumann’s works. Gray made a practice of trading with fellow artists, including Charles Rollo Peters, whose paintings were more valuable than Gray's in the early twentieth century. Gray modestly stated that he had gotten the better deal in his swap with Peters, but nowadays Gray’s works have far surpassed Peters’ in value. Ray Schumann obviously came out better in his trade with Gray.