Sullivan Goss presents a curated selection of pieces from our inventory and recent acquistions. 

Sullivan Goss has recently acquired four paintings by RAY STRONG (1905-2006) and plans to exhibit them all together in its new exhibition THE SPRING SALON, 2023 of the Artists at Sullivan Goss. According to Gallery Director Jeremy Tessmer, “For some reason, these things have always come in waves. It’s been years now since we’ve had a selection like this to offer.”

Sullivan Goss has been actively interested in preserving and extending the legacy of the artist for almost two decades. Working with Ray’s other gallerists and with generous contributions from both institutions and individuals in the community, Sullivan Goss led the project to publish RAY STRONG: American Artist in May of 2016, ten years after the artist died at over 101. Three of the pieces included are new to The Ray Strong Project, which is an ongoing effort to locate and document as many of the artist’s works as possible. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST: 

RAY STRONG was born in Corvallis, OR in 1905. He was homeschooled early on and began painting when he was eight years old. He attended both the San Francisco Art Institute and the New York Art Students’ League, but he vastly preferred the instruction he got in New York. Nevertheless, he went back to San Francisco in 1934 and founded the San Francisco Art Students’ League with icons like Maynard Dixon and Ansel Adams. After a solid career in the Bay Area, he came to Santa Barbara in 1960 to work on dioramas for the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. He later became the signature artist for the Santa Barbara Savings & Loan and helped found the Santa Barbara Art Institute. In 1986, he became the totemic leader of the OAK Group, a band of painters dedicated to painting from life outdoors who gave 50% of their sales to environmental preservation in special exhibitions. The OAK GROUP created a vogue for plein air landscapes that persists to this day. As such, Ray Strong is considered “Santa Barbara’s most influential painter.”