High Sierra Pack Trip

Primarily a self-taught artist, Edgar Payne earned critical acclaim in his lifetime for his varied depictions from the harbors of Italy and France to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Executing highly finished pencil drawings and working en plein air with oil, Payne often worked in series to better familiarize himself with this distinct terrain in order to achieve the most dramatic final compositions. Payne discusses his process in his 1941 publication, The Composition of Outdoor Painting: "A painter needs to study, to meditate and experiment and practice interminably in order to produce a painting that would have nobility in its concept, variety, rhythm, repetition, unity, balance and harmony in its composition."

The present work is a stunning example of the harmonies that the artist sought to create. Impressive in scale and bold in its brushwork, High Sierra Pack Trip embodies Payne’s conviction “that the Sierra Nevada possessed a greater appeal to the lover of nature, the romantic, the beautiful, and the sublime than did the mountains of any other country.” (S.A. Shields, P. Trenton, Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey, exhibition catalogue, Pasadena, California, 2012, p. 71)