By Rachael Fleming
Photos courtesy of the Bank of Stockton
Stockton is known for its many prominent features including the inland Port and the University of Pacific as well as attracting noteworthy visitors such as Richard Nixon, Babe Ruth, and John Wayne. A lesser known aspect of the town and county’s history is the amount of painters who called this area home at one time or another. Here is a look at the artists who resided in San Joaquin throughout or county’s past.
Willis E. Davis (1855-1910) was born in Stockton to a 49er who found wealth in the California Gold Rush through the manufacturing of lime. Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Davis earned a degree in science and literature in preparation for a career in the mining business. After a successful career in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, he retired and started painting landscapes. He painted for his pleasure but soon served on many clubs and boards including the Bohemian Club, San Francisco Art Association and Mark Hopkins Institute of Art.
William Seltzer Rice (1873-1963) was born in Pennsylvania and studied at the Drexel Institute and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. Here he met Frederick Meyer, who later became an Art Supervisor for the Stockton public school system. Once in this position, he hired Rice in 1900 as his assistant, who he eventually promoted to supervisor in 1902.
Rice explored much of California including the wonders of Yosemite and Lake Tahoe as well as the man made Spanish Missions and Golden Gate Bridge. Rice captured many of his exploits in an art form known as Woodblock Printing. This technique originated in China but Rice was influenced by the Japanese version he saw at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Through his painting, photography and sketching, he developed his own style by turning his own art into the block prints. Besides inspiration from his travels, the city of Stockton also inspired many of his water colors.
Arthur Earl Haddock (1895-1980) was born in San Joaquin County near Clements. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute but received most of his artistic education through his mentor Maynard Dixon. Using oil and water color, Haddock was a prolific landscape painter, perhaps inspired by his long career as a railroad employee. In 1922, Haddock started a studio in Stockton with his first one man show displayed at the newly dedicated museum in Victory Park, the Haggin Memorial Museum in 1931.
These are just a few examples of the well-known painters who have called Stockton home. Each had their own specialty and their own medium, however, similarities are found in more than their shared home land, but also in the vivid colors each used to bring to life the beautiful scenes they experienced.