George Stern Fine Arts

George Stern Fine Arts For over forty years, George Stern Fine Arts has specialized in California Impressionism and America Follow us!

For over forty years, George Stern Fine Arts has specialized in California Impressionism and American Scene painting. We have a large inventory of the finest examples of paintings from 1880 through 1940 and beyond. George Stern Fine Arts is involved in educating the public on the historical development of these artists and the connoisseurship of collecting. We have published books on artists such

as Arthur Dominique Rozaire, Conrad Buff, Edwin Roscoe Shrader, and Robert Frame. George Stern is the founding president of the Fine Art Dealers Association. He currently serves on the boards of FADA, the Art Dealers Association of California, the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and the Board of Advisors of Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Twitter:
Tumblr: georgesternfinearts.tumblr.com
Web: sternfinearts.com

GALLERY SELECTIONS STILL LIFE
05/23/2026

GALLERY SELECTIONS STILL LIFE

04/16/2026

Please enjoy this virtual walk through our gallery.

Gallery Selections
03/05/2026

Gallery Selections

01/30/2026

Enjoy this virtual gallery walk through of our current works on display at George Stern Fine Arts.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a bright New Year in 2026. Holiday Hours:Opened Wednesday, December 24th 10:00am...
12/19/2025

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a bright New Year in 2026.

Holiday Hours:
Opened Wednesday, December 24th 10:00am - 3:00pm
Closed Thursday, December 24th
Opened Wednesday, December 31st 10:00am - 3:00pm
Closed Thursday, January 1st

Guy Rose (1867-1925)
CALIFORNIA WINTER
Oil on canvas
24" x 29"

BIO
Guy Rose was born in San Gabriel, California March 3, 1867 and was the son of a senator and large southern California landholder and rancher. He began his art training at the School of Design under Emil Carlsen and Virgil Williams. In 1888, he continued his studies in Paris under Constant, Lefebvr, and Doucet at the Academie Julian. In 1894 he received an honorable mention at the Paris Salon and was the first Californian to ever receive an award from that institution. In 1899, he bought a cottage at Giverny where he was influenced by Monet and the French Impressionists. Suffering from lead poisoning, Rose was unable to paint for periods of time. In 1912, he returned to New York and two years later, moved to Pasadena where he taught and served as the director at the Stickney School of Art. He died on November 17, 1925.

For The New Collector
11/20/2025

For The New Collector

SMALL TREASURES
10/25/2025

SMALL TREASURES

George Stern Fine Arts is proud to present a selection of works byCONRAD BUFF (1886-1975)"In 1968 when I saw a painting...
09/20/2025

George Stern Fine Arts is proud to present a selection of works by

CONRAD BUFF (1886-1975)

"In 1968 when I saw a painting by Conrad Buff II for the first time, I was captivated by his striking imagery and use of color" - George Stern

Indulge in an exploration of Conrad Buff's works as we celebrate
him at George Stern Fine Arts along with,

The Laguna Art Museum's Exhibition,
SOLITUDE AND SILENCE: CONRAD BUFF, PAINTER OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST
September 20, 2025 - January 25, 2026 at the Laguna Art Museum

STILL LIFE AND MORE
08/19/2025

STILL LIFE AND MORE

James Guilford Swinnerton (1875-1974)CLOUD SHADOWS IN MONUMENT VALLEYOil on canvas30" x 40"Bio:Born in Eureka, Californi...
07/26/2025

James Guilford Swinnerton (1875-1974)

CLOUD SHADOWS IN MONUMENT VALLEY
Oil on canvas
30" x 40"

Bio:
Born in Eureka, California, James Swinnerton became a famous painter of desert landscapes following a successful career as an illustrator and cartoonist.
His mother died when he was young, and his father, the son of a Forty-Niner at Dutch Flat, started the newspaper, the Humboldt Star in Humboldt County and then became a judge in Stockton. Swinnerton was raised by an uncle in Santa Clara and first took art classes at the California School of Art with Emil Carlsen. He ignored many assignments and did caricatures of his teachers.

He went to work at age 17 for the San Francisco Examiner where he became a favorite of owner/ publisher William Randolph Hearst, who was impressed by the caricatures. Swinnerton did cartoons of sporting events and for weather forecasts drew comic bears, pantomimes of the weather, which became so popular that they were the first syndicated comic strips. When Hearst, went to New York to start a Sunday supplement, he joined him and there launched the comic strips, Little Jimmy and Little Tiger. With his Little Jimmy comic strip, he holds the American record for the oldest comic strip in existence created by the same artist.

A combination of alcoholism, exhaustion, and tuberculosis forced him to quit, but Hearst sent him to a sanatorium in Colton, California, where he was expected to die. However, giving up drinking and recovering from tuberculosis, he lived to the age of 99, moving in 1903 to the desert of Palm Springs where he became a great favorite and lodger of Mrs. Nellie Coffman who owned the Desert Inn.

From 1907, traveling with b***o, sketching pad, and sleeping in the open air, he ranged over the entire Southwest, painting the Arizona desert, Grand Canyon, and Navajo scenes as well as many California landscapes. This subject matter and lifestyle set the pattern for his career. He moved for a period to Flagstaff to be near the Navajos, and Hearst visited him there. All this time, he continued the Little Jimmy series and for Good Housekeeping Magazine added Canyon Kiddies, Indian children doing all sorts of antics, and this series became highly popular.

He married Gretchen Parshall in 1938, ultimately settled in Cathedral City, California, and kept studios in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. His oil paintings, especially the ones of his later years, had a delicate blending of soft colors and lighting. In 1969, retrospective exhibitions of his work were held in Flagstaff and Palm Springs.

Source:
Peggy and Harold Samuels, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West
Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940
Ron Goulart, The Encyclopedia of American Comics

Address

73320 El Paseo
Palm Desert, CA
92260

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+13102762600

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when George Stern Fine Arts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to George Stern Fine Arts:

Share

Category