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Joseph Lee(1827-1880)The Country Home of Robert B. Woodward, Oak Knoll, Napa 47 x 72in Painted prior to 1877.
Sold for US$10,075 inc. premium
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Aaron Bastian
Director

Kathy Wong
Senior Director, Fine Art

Victoria Zaks
Specialist, Head of Sale
Joseph Lee (1827-1880)
signed and inscribed 'Drawn & Painted from Nature. by Joseph Lee' (lower right) and inscribed 'Oak Knoll Napa' (lower left), signed again and inscribed 'R.B. Woodward Oak Knoll Napa Co.' (on the stretcher bar)
oil on canvas
47 x 72in
Painted prior to 1877.
Footnotes
Provenance
Mrs. George E. Raum, 1919.
M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California, gift from the above.
Sold to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Exhibited
California Historical Society, San Francisco, California. n.d.
Literature
H.T. Williams, The Pacific Tourist.: Williams' Illustrated Trans-continental Guide of Travel, From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Containing Full Descriptions of Railroad Routes ... A Complete Traveler's Guide of the Union And Central Pacific Railroads, New York, H.T. Williams, 1877, p. 272 (engraving after the painting).
Robert B. Woodward (1824–1879) was a businessman and collector who made his fortune as a San Francisco hotelier during the California Gold Rush. Originally from Rhode Island, he owned and operated What Cheer House, a hotel in the present day Financial district at Sacramento and Leidesdorff Streets. It became one of the most popular hotels among sailors, many of whom were bound for the Sierras.
Woodward bought a four-acre estate in the Mission District from former Senator John C. Fremont as a residence to entertain his family and friends. When Woodward purchased a country estate in Napa, he turned his residence into Woodward Gardens, a 'pleasure resort' which charged admission. Occupying two city blocks near Mission and Valencia Streets, it opened in 1865 as a showcase for Woodward's collection of plants, live and taxidermy animals, art, amusements, and curiosities. It was so spectacular that it captured by the photographer Eadweard Muybridge. It closed in the 1890s when the city allowed the property to be divided into building lots, but until then, had been the nation's first aquarium and San Francisco's first zoo. When the Gardens closed, the collection was auctioned off in 1894, much of it purchased by San Francisco philanthropist Adolph Sutro.
The present work depicts Oak Knoll, Woodward's estate in Napa. Painted in a very deliberate and delineated manner, it documents the variety of flora and fauna and the intricacy of the mansion. A lively encounter between a turkey and dog sets the tone at this private pleasure garden.




















