A landscape painter, John Marshall Gamble was born in Morristown, New Jersey on November 25, 1863. Gamble's father worked for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and when John was a teenager he moved with his family to Auckland, New Zealand.

 

At age 20 he moved to San Francisco and began art training at the School of Design under Virgil Williams and Emil Carlsen. After further training in Paris at Academie Julian under Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin-Constant, he returned to San Francisco and opened a studio. When his studio and most of the city went up in flames in 1906, he relocated to Santa Barbara and remained there for the rest of his life.

 

Gamble did no commercial art work and earned his living throughout his career from the sale of his paintings. For twenty-five years he served as color consultant for the Santa Barbara Board of Architectural Review. He suffered a stroke in his studio and died on April 7, 1957. Nationally known for his landscapes, his paintings often include poppies, lupine, and other wild flowers against the green and purples of the California hills.

 

Exhibited: California State Fair, 1889-1902; San Francisco Art Association, 1891-1906; California Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, 1894; Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco, 1896-97; Bohemian Club annuals; Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904; Del Monte Art Gallery, Monterey, 1907-12; Kanst Gallery, Los Angeles, 1910, 1912, 1916; Leonard's, Los Angeles, 1924; Santa Barbara Art League, Biltmore Salon, Los Angeles, 1927; Stendahl Galleries, Los Angeles, 1938; Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, 1939.

 

Awards: Gold medal, Alaska-Yukon Exposition, Seattle, WA, 1909.

 

Works held: Auckland Museum, New Zealand; California Historical Society, San Francisco; Crocker Museum, Sacramento; Fleischer Museum, Scottsdale, AZ; Fox Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara (murals); Irvine Museum; Oakland Museum of California; Santa Barbara Historical Society; Shasta State Park.

 

Source: Artists in California: 1786-1940, Edan Hughes