Romance of the Bells: The California Missions in Art
Through March 15
The Irvine Museum
Irvine, California
(949) 476-2565

Organized in the fall of 2004, this exhibition returns to the Irvine Museum after traveling to a variety of venues throughout California for the past three years. The artwork on display features scenery often associated with the missions of California past: gentle land, with rolling hills of oak trees and wildflowers, dotted with buildings of weathered adobe walls and red-tiled roofs. Between 1769 and 1823, approximately 21 missions and a number of branch missions were founded throughout the state. Although this period of 54 years may be considered brief, it had a lasting effect on the artistic and social fabric of California.

San Luis Rey by Charles Harmon, oil on board, 30 x 46. Private collection.	Queen of the Missions, Santa Barbara by Paul Grimm, 1945, oil, 28 x 36. Private collection.	San Luis Rey Mission by Henry Chapman Ford, 1883, etching, 7 x 13. Private collection.