Payne, Edgar (1883 – 1947)

Edgar Payne, who was born in Washburn, Missouri, rose to prominence in the early 20th century as a plein-air landscape painter in California. His paintings of the spectacular Sierra Nevada Mountains are his most well-known works. He painted so many pictures of Indians galloping over the mountains that a mountain lake, Lake Payne, bears his name. He created a great deal of “en plein air” paintings in addition to many drawings, which he then turned into studio paintings. He painted roughly one picture per day, finishing his work swiftly. He also painted a wide range of other locales, such as the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly in the Southwest, the French and Italian Rivieras, the Canadian Rockies, the shoreline of Laguna Beach, the French and Swiss Alps, and fishing scenes in Italy and France. Payne had run away from his home at 14 years old after his father strongly denounced the idea of his son pursuing an art career, marking the beginning of Payne’s travels in the Ozarks, Texas, Mexico, and Chicago. There, he began his career by painting houses, stage sets, and murals. Though he studied art briefly in Chicago, he was said to have disliked the school experience and claimed to be entirely self-taught. Years later, Payne would begin a family of his own and bring his career with them to Laguna Beach, California. There, in the year 1920, he became the founder and first president of the Laguna Beach Art Association and the Gallery of Laguna Beach. Payne received an Honorable Mention in the 1923 Paris Salon, a noteworthy accomplishment considering that over 7000 paintings were on display. Payne composed his book “Composition of Outdoor Painting” during the Great Depression and worked as a teacher to support his family. The book has been widely printed and is considered a classic of landscape painting. Despite his plans to build a house in New York City, he and his spouse never got around to starting the project due to the state of the economy. Payne passed away in Hollywood in 1947.