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Born: Eureka,
California 1875
Died: Palm Springs, California 1974
Desert landscape painter, illustrator, cartoonist, “the Dean of Desert Artists.”
Swinnerton was raised in the Santa Clara valley by his grandparents, after his
mother died. His grandfather had been successful in the Gold Rush. His father
was a newspaper editor and judge. At 16, he enrolled in the San Francisco Art
Association Art School, the pupil of W. Keith and E. Carlsen. His talent for
caricature led him to become newspaper cartoonist for William Randolph Hearst.
His comic strip in 1892 was among the first. When he moved to New York City with
Hearst, “he was making and spending large sums of money. He lived a gay, full,
and fast life.” His comic strips were “Little Jimmy” and “Little Tiger.” At 28,
however, he collapsed from tuberculosis and was sent to Colton, California to
recuperate.
From 1903 on, Swinnerton was a painter of the desert landscape. In the
beginning, the collectors rejected his paintings because the scene was not the
stereotyped wasteland of the Sahara. Swinnerton persisted. As he recovered
physically, he explored unfamiliar regions of New Mexico, Arizona, and southern
Utah. In 1907, his subjects became favorites, including the Grand Canyon and the
Indians. Good Housekeeping magazine printed his “Canyon Kiddies.” Over the
years, Swinnerton has been friend of other Western artists like Borein and Carl
Eytell, and the inspiration of younger artists like McGrew, George Marks, and
Bill Bender.
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SOLD ARTWORK |
Blacksmith Shop - Mount Shasta -
SOLD |
Pala Verdes Bloom -
SOLD |
A Dense Forest -
SOLD |
Desert Clouds -
SOLD |
Desert Greys -
SOLD |
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