Recollections: The Art of Douglas Shively
Ventura County Museum of History and Art

    The Ventura County Museum of History & Art announces the opening of an exhibit featuring the art and life of Santa Paula artist Douglas Shively. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, December 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. and the exhibit will continue in the Museum's Hoffman Gallery until February 20, 2000.

    The art of Douglas Shively is well known among county art appreciators, as well as collectors throughout the state. Although he was often referred to as "Mr. Sycamore," after the graceful trees that occupy many of his landscapes, the subjects of Shively's paintings were actually vast and varied, included many recognizable Ventura County vistas, the beautiful terrain typical of California's many regions, and scenes from his extensive world travels. This exhibit will feature a sampling of the best of all of these, as well as examples from his sketchbooks and photography.

    The exhibit will feature not only his art, but also the recollections many friends, family members, and collector's have of Douglas Shively. A local banker, rancher, life-long resident of Santa Paula, and a prodigious and talented painter, his paintings hold a special meaning to the many collectors in our community.

    Shively was mostly self-trained as an artist, and claimed to have learned the most from the friends he made amongst Southern California's burgeoning school of landscapists from the 30s and 40s. He kept company and went on painting excursions with many prominent, and now highly regarded, painters, such as Al Dempster, Ralph Holmes, and Robert Clunie.

    Shively was more than just an accomplished artist, but also a dedicated citizen within his community. As president of the bank founded by his father, the locally owned Citizen's State Bank, he was a fixture in Santa Paula's civic affairs. His friendship with prestigious painters in California helped give birth to Santa Paula's long-running art show. Shively convinced the town to sponsor a yearly art competition, and then rallied his art friends to enter the competition, creating an opportunity for the citizen's of Santa Paula to enjoy local art of the highest caliber. On his advice the city also offered a "purchase prize," by which the city, and other public entities such as the library and school districts would purchase the top-honored paintings. As a result of this practice Santa Paula now boasts one of the most impressive collections of civic art in the state.

    The exhibit is an extension of the Museum's collection policy, to accumulate art by local artists of merit, as well as art featuring Ventura County and related topics as subject matter. The purpose of this collection policy, and of this exhibit in particular, is to bring to the public's attention the vast and valuable artistic environment within our own County.

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Recollections: The Art of Douglas Shively
Photos of the Exhibit