Arts   

This two-part lecture series explores the fascinating and often intimate relationships between two iconic artist pairs—Georgia O'Keeffe & Alfred Stieglitz, and Gustav Klimt & Emilie Flöge. Far from the traditional muse narrative, these four highlight how inspiration can flow in both directions—revealing complex dynamics of love, power, creativity, and influence.

Some of the earliest and rarest views of California and San Francisco came from the brush of French artists, many of whom came to the United States with their 30,000 compatriots fleeing political turmoil in France and hoping for a better life in Gold Rush California. Art historian Claudine Chalmers will tell the stories of an exciting range of French and Franco-Californian artists and she will show their California works. Claudine is the author of eight books and her work has inspired exhibits at the California Historical Society in San Francisco, at the Crocker Art Museum and at the Monterey Museum of Art. Her first session will cover the bulk of French depictions of California in the 19th century. Her second session will focus more specifically on French depictions of the gold country and of gold miners.