Lucy Valentine Pierce (American, 1886-1974), Tank House, Barn & Driveway, Santa Cruz

Charcoal on paper laid on board, signed at lower right, inscriptions on the verso include a description of the location depicted as "198 Cliff Way / Santa Cruz House / Calif. / Tankhouse, barn & driveway / oak tree behind barn / camphor tree at left / (toolhouse end of barn)," framed.

Sheet size 13 1/2 x 16 7/8 in.; Frame dimensions 17 x 21 in.

Lucy Valentine Pierce was a California artist known for her work in a multitude of mediums. Born in San Francisco and raised in Berkeley, Pierce studied privately with Xavier Martinez in her early teens and continued her training at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the California School of Arts and Crafts. She later studied with Armin Hansen and John Gamble in Monterey. In the early 1920s she joined the artists' community of the Monterey Peninsula, building a home and studio there in 1923 where she lived until 1941. Her subjects included portraits, murals, landscapes, and scenic views of California, Taos, and Europe.

Pierce was a member of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists, the Sketch Club, the San Francisco Galerie Beaux Arts Club, and a charter member of the California College of Arts and Crafts. She exhibited widely throughout California, including at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939, and venues such as the Del Monte Art Gallery, Stanford Art Gallery, and the Little Gallery in Carmel. In 1953, she moved to San Diego and later settled in La Jolla, where she continued exhibiting locally. A retrospective of her work was held at the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1973, one year before her death.

Paper is affixed to backing with unknown adhesive.