Helen Gleiforst Carmel Valley Hills

Mouth of the Carmel Valley Hills. Oil on masonite, 17 1/2" X 15 1/2", signed lower right Gleiforst, unframed. $20.00 shipping insured. Born in Crete, Nebraska on February 10, 1903, Helen Gleiforst moved with her family shortly thereafter to San Diego, California. In 1918 her family relocated to Eugene, Oregon, and in 1920 Helen attended the University of Oregon. Because of her father's health, the family returned to Southern California. She married realtor Fred Gleiforst in 1923 and settled in Beverly Hills. It was in the late 1920s that she began to paint and draw. Her teachers included Nicolai Fechin, George Melcher, and John Hubbard Rich. Her instruction with Dedrick Stuber influenced her landscapes and Nell Walker Warner influenced her floral paintings. By the mid-1930s she had established a local reputation as an artist. She became a frequent exhibitor at one man shows in local venues. In the 1950s she had an exhibit at Stanford University. With her husband's retirement in 1960 she began to travel throughout California where she painted many of her landscapes. She stopped her artistic work in the 1980s because of poor health. The full extent of her output became evident after her death when an heir discovered approximately 300 paintings stored in her home. These works show the strong impressionistic expression of her work that was characteristic of the early plein-air painters of California. Gleiforst died in Los Angeles, California on May 28, 1997. Exhibited: Ebell Society; Beverly Hills & Westwood Women's Clubs; Clearwater Jr. High School, 1936.