Surf Values
Artist
John Severson
(1933 - 2017)
Date1990s
MediumWatercolor on paper
Dimensions15 1/2 x 23"
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of the Hilbert Collection
Object number2021.077
DescriptionSurfing came to California in the 1920s from the place of its cultural creation, Hawaii, introduced by such surfing icons as Duke Kahanamoku and George Freeth. When personal automobiles became more widespread, the pastime of surfing spread up and down the California coast. During the 1950s and 1960s many thousands of teenagers and young adults, primarily living in Southern California, became active in the formation of a California "Surf Culture." John Severson was a surfer, editor, author, photographer, filmmaker and fine artist who founded the iconic Surfer magazine. He is widely acknowledged as the first person to produce a series of paintings devoted to surf culture imagery.Severson's paintings were first exhibited in the mid-1950s at Long Beach State College to complete his Master of Fine Arts degree. Since then they have been exhibited widely in museums and galleries, including an exhibition at the Hilbert Museum of surfing-related works by Severson and Rick Griffin in 2017, curated by Gordon McClelland.
Severson remained a dedicated surfer and continued to produce surf-related art until he passed away in 2017. "Salt Creek (Surf Values)" depicts Young's Beach Camp, located on Salt Creek Beach/Monarch Beach, a few miles north of John Severson’s former home in San Clemente, Calif. (Today this is the site of the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel.) It is a monochromatic work that focuses on dark and light values; hence the title.
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