Catalina'sPlein Air Legacy

Our Legacy

A Century of Painting Catalina

For more than a hundred years, Catalina Island has drawn painters to its coves, its light and its unmistakable architecture. This is the tradition we are working to carry forward.

  1. Impressionist painting of Avalon's harbor and hillside through eucalyptus branches
    The Avalon hillside, a subject painters have returned to for generations.
    1880s–1920s

    The Impressionist Roots

    Catalina began attracting California Impressionists in the late 1880s. Granville Redmond, William Wendt, Edgar Payne and other artists found inspiration in the island's rugged coastline, brilliant light and secluded coves.

  2. Plein air painting of a red umbrella beside a white archway building near the harbor
    Island life and architecture, painted on location.
    50+ years

    Catalina Art Association Festival of Art

    A long-running fine-art and crafts tradition serving artists, residents and visitors for more than fifty years, helping to establish Catalina as a gathering place for working artists.

  3. Loose, textured oil painting of a moored boat reflected in turquoise harbor water
    The moored fleet of Avalon harbor, a favorite plein air subject.
    1986–2003

    The Catalina Show

    A juried plein air paint-out founded by Denise Burns. Its legacy contributed to the growth of the Plein Air Painters of America and helped influence the modern plein air festival format.

  4. Atmospheric painting of Catalina's wild bison herd in a misty green field
    Catalina's famous bison, emblem of the island's wild side.
    Through 2025

    The Wild Side Art Show

    A conservation-focused plein air fundraiser presented by the Catalina Island Conservancy for fifteen years, concluding in 2025. It connected art with the island's wild interior and natural stewardship.

  5. Painting of a figure in a Joe’s Rent-A-Boat shirt looking out over the Avalon waterfront
    A living, working waterfront ready for its next chapter.
    2027

    The Next Chapter

    A proposed new Catalina Plein Air Festival designed to connect the island's artistic history with artists, collectors, residents, students, businesses and visitors.

Help us build the archive

This history is still being written. We are gathering archival images, captions, source notes and oral histories from Catalina residents and artists. If you have a photograph, a painting, or a memory to share, we would love to hear from you.

Share an oral history or archival image
Historical details are presented for educational purposes and continue to be researched and verified. Dates and attributions may be refined as the archive grows.