Born in Washburn, Montana, the adventurous and artistic Edgar Payne left home at age fourteen to paint houses, stage sets, and signs. Between 1911 and 1915, he traveled around California. He settled first in San Francisco, where he married fellow art student Elsie Palmer. The couple then moved to Laguna Beach in 1918, where he became the first president of the Laguna Beach Art Association. Between 1922 and 1924, Payne and his wife toured and painted throughout Europe. He also traveled extensively in the southwest. Today his paintings of European sailing ships, the Alps, Indians on horseback, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains are his legacy. Payne Lake, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, was named for him.
Sierra Landscape
Edgar Payne Sierra Landscape, undated oil on canvas 16″ x 20″ Acquired by Arnold Haskell