Armin Hansen - Life in Northern California

Life in Northern California

After his studies in Germany, Armin Hansen taught at the University of California, Berkeley and in 1913 moved to paint in Monterey, a budding art colony of the era. In this period he utilized both painting and etching techniques in the style of Impressionism. He was a founder of the Carmel Art Association and became enamored of creating marine scenes, particularly involving man's relationship with the sea. In 1914 he produced his Self Portrait.

In the early 1920s Hansen lived near the Stevenson House, and he often entertained other artists, including members of the Society of Six. By this time Hansen was not only one of the most well known California artists, but arguably the best teacher of the era. A typical Painting of his early period in Monterey, Men of the Sea, illustrates his bond with his subjects. In 1920 be began outdoor lessons for both C.S. Price and August Francois Gay. E. Charlton Fortune also studied with Hansen. Hansen was also unique in that he had friends in both the avant gard Monterey School and the conservative establishment of Carmel artists. An important work of this period is The Salmon Trawlers (1923), which is in the permanent collection of the Monterey Museum of Art.

In the 1930s Hansen's paintings become more intense and use of light more pronounced. One of his masterpiece's of this era was Sardine Barge circa 1933, which appropriately is in the permanent collection of the Monterey Museum of Art.

Later in Monterey Hansen led a group of artists in opposing a plan to remove Fishermans Wharf as part of a grandiose redevelopment scheme. The wharf was an important subject of their art, besides the fact that Hansen identified with the simple life of a fisherman. These artists were considered a bohemian group, living in the Peters Gate area of Monterey, but amazingly they prevailed against bigger business interests.