William Keith

According to Alfred C. Harrison, the present work, Dawn in the Desert Southwest, depicts a view in Marin County, California, with Mount Tamalpais outlined in the distance. The work likely dates to the late 1870s or early 1880s, although it is quite possibly dated later, as the artist sometimes reverted to his earlier style late in his career. Harrison continues, “This shows Keith applying elements of Barbizon composition to a California subject. The open foreground, the path going into the picture plane, the oak tree in the middle ground, and the looser technique are all Barbizon features.”