Henrietta Mary Shore

Point Sur Lighthouse

Heavy clouds gather above the hilly coastline of Point Sur Lighthouse. The painting depicts Southern California with a dream-like quality. In 1930, Canadian-born painter Henrietta Shore settled in the area where she remained for the rest of her life. In a letter, she described her process of painting the natural world around her: “To be true to nature one must abstract. Nature does not waste her forms."

As a formally trained painter, Shore embraced bold modeling and rhythmic colors. Critics of her work compared the artist to modernists of the time, although she rejected the terminology. Instead, she focused on the emotive qualities of nature. In Point Sur Lighthouse, two white horses graze in the foreground, overlooking a flattened valley of dirt roads and lakes. Unbridled, they reflect feelings of freedom and tranquility onto the landscape.