The Jonathan Club is a proud owner of artworks by California’s great masters, and a large part of that legacy is due its artist membership programing. Beginning in 1925 with Jack Wilkinson Smith, whose powerful seascapes adorn the Town Club, selected artists’ Club memberships are paid via their works of art. One current Resident Artist is famed landscape photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. Since obtaining membership in 1992, his works in the Club and Art Foundation collections are displayed at the Beach Club, the California Court of Appeals in Riverside, and along the hallways at the Town Club.
At this September’s Chili Cook-Off, Ketchum joined the Art Foundation’s team, which was aptly named “Go Green! Chili with Ketchum.” Ketchum displayed three photographs during the competition and regaled visitors with stories behind the works. Also in September, JAF honored him at its “Art and Wine: Robert Glenn Ketchum” event on the Town Club rooftop. During the reception, Ketchum led a tour of his works, which included a temporary exhibition of his current series, Mandalac Gardens, prints on aluminum that fracture his landscapes into kaleidoscopic compositions.
Ketchum’s stunning photographs in the JC and JAF collections span the artist’s career from the early 1970’s to the present. He has exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In recognition of his success, the Sierra Club honored him with the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, and Audubon Magazine named him one of one hundred people “who shaped the environmental movement of the 20th century.” In 2010, Ketchum was the fifth artist ever to be featured in American Photo’s “Masters Series.”
In addition to receiving critical acclaim for contributing to the development of color photography, Ketchum is lauded for drawing attention to natural resource preservation and conservation issues. Some of the first works he exhibited were from the portfolio Winters: 1970-1980, a series of silver gelatin prints depicting snowy Sun Valley, Idaho. He also pioneered advances in Cibachrome color photography and large-scale formats. And since the early 1980’s, he has collaborated with a Chinese embroidery and weaving guild to translate his photographs into textiles.
We are excited to see what the Club will next acquire from this remarkable artist. If you are interested in learning more about Ketchum or touring the works of art at the Riverside Court of Appeals, please contact us at inquiries@jonathanart.org.