1970s San Mateo Coast Oil Painting Landscape "Rolling Seas" by Hartzell Harrison Ray

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Beautiful seascape by California artist Hartzell Harrison Ray (American, 1896-1991). Signed H. Ray lower right. Titled "Rolling Sea" on verso. … Read more Beautiful seascape by California artist Hartzell Harrison Ray (American, 1896-1991). Signed H. Ray lower right. Titled "Rolling Sea" on verso. Unframed. Image, 24"H x 36"W.

Dr. Hartzell Harrison Ray was Born in Kansas on June 10, 1896. Ray was a long-time resident of San Mateo, CA. Attended the University of Kansas 1900s. A retired pediatrician, Hartzell is one of the founders of the Peninsula Art Association, also a member of the Foster City Art League.

Bio: The Times from San Mateo, California February 21, 1972 article on the artist.
Reared in Kansas, he served in World War I, and spent two post - war years teaching high school. He received his AB and MD from George Washington University and interned there and in Rochester. It was in the latter city that he met his charming wife, Anne, who was the supervising surgical nurse. The Rays were married in 1925 and have two children. One of the founders of the San Mateo Medical Clinic, the 75 - year - old doctor taught clinical pediatrics at the University of California Medical Center for 30 years. Retirement has given Hartzell Ray more time for traveling. And because he is a representational marine artist, he is now able to indulge in his passion for painting seascapes particularly on the San Mateo County Coast. Hartzell Ray has never stopped learning. Monday afternoons are currently devoted to painting at the San Mateo County Fair building with Earl Pierce of the Peninsula Art Association. He's also sitting in as an observer in the docent course in Chinese art at the de Young Museum. Actually, Dr. Ray would be - interested in being a docent, and leading tours but he - simply doesn't have the time. There's the pungent smell of the oil paints; finished canvases are stacked against the walls; a painting still in the works rests on an easel in the middle of the room. Hartzell Ray has shied away from personal publicity, but his enthusiasm for art overcame his reticence to talk about himself. "I started painting during World War II," he recalled. "I was making a house call in South San Mateo and, as I was returning along El Camino, I saw a fellow in the window of a big empty building painting, I’d like to do that I said to myself as I knocked on the door. It was answered by Mr. Polla, an itinerant artist, and I told him I wanted to learn to paint. '"Go up town and buy the cheapest paints and brushes you can find,' he said, 'and come back tomorrow night.'". And that's the way it started," Dr. Ray concluded with a smile. Hartzell Ray helped organize the Peninsula Art Association and served as its president and a member of the board of directors. See less