Provenance:
Signed and dedicated by the artist to
the present owner in verso.

Exhibited:
Manila Hotel, 1951

ABOUT THE WORK

In 1947, Arturo Luz accompanied his parents on a visit to the United States. His father, Valeriano, who was appointed commercial attaché to the Golden Gate Exposition at Treasure Island, San Francisco, thought it was an opportunity for the young Arturo to go to and see America for the first time. After the Exposition, Luz was permitted by his parents to stay in the United States, taking a three-year certificate course in art at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the California College of the Arts) in Oakland. Luz studied drawing under the mentorship of Andre Boratko, whom he described as “an imposing figure, very good-looking with a goatee.” Luz also studied watercolor painting under George Post, whom he deeply admired. Luz once said Post “could draw circles around Dong Kingman,” the widely recognized master watercolorist from Hong Kong. On some occasions, Post would take his students on a trip to see several Californian sceneries – bridges, waterfronts, and notably, Fisherman’s Wharf – that the students would then paint. In Cid Reyes’ book on the artist, Luz described Post’s routine during their trips: “He had this wonderful habit. While the students were busy with their watercolors, Post would do his own.” Similar to a novice observing a veteran, Luz described the rigorous skills in watercolor painting: “The effortlessness, the sense of color, the ease, the facility. He was sensitive to the nuances of light and shade. All of us copied him. None even got close.” Luz then felt an irreconcilable difference with watercolor, as he would become impatient for the medium to dry. Nevertheless, Luz would eventually create a number of watercolor paintings. One of his earliest works to have survived from the late 1940s, Luz painted this piece depicting a scenery in Fisherman's Wharf – a tourist attraction in San Francisco – in 1949 during his last year as a student in California. Upon returning to the Philippines in 1951, Luz held his debut solo exhibition at the Manila Hotel, with his mother, Rosario, as its principal sponsor and organizer. The exhibit mostly showcased watercolor paintings done by the artist in California, with this piece among the featured works. This watercolor painting would then serve as an initial glimpse into what would eventually become the trademark of Luz – his calculated manipulation of geometrical elements.