Ivan Messenger

Ivan Messenger (American, 1895–1983).

Framed in an archival, silk mat within a water-gilded, Whistler-style frame by Richard Tobey & Son.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ivan Messenger moved to San Diego County in 1917 and worked on a farm east of San Diego. Messenger first studied at Stanford and subsequently taught there and at the University of Texas, returning to San Diego in 1925. From 1926, he exhibited with success in San Diego, both with solo exhibitions and through the California Watercolor Society. He later taught at San Diego State University and traveled throughout the Southwest and Mexico, drawing inspiration from the desert landscape. He became a member of the San Diego Moderns and exhibited with them in the early 1930s. From 1936 to 1937, Messenger lived and painted in South America. Messenger’s work is held in the permanent collections of museums throughout the United States, including the San Diego Museum of Art, the Grace Museum in Texas and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Primarily a watercolorist, Messenger was equally skilled with pastel, gouache and oil. We are pleased to offer an intuitive and vibrant work by this notable early California artist.

Signed Messenger (lower center); inscribed verso "Los Carteblancos / Popayán Columbia"

An Early Portrait of San Diego, Messenger, 1969;

Artists in California 1786-1940, Hughes, Vol. II, p.762; Samuels’ Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Samuels, p.322;

Who Was Who in American Art, Falk, Vol. II, p.2256; et al.