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Explore the extraordinary light of the everyday through the captivating work of Carol Koelsch Appleton.
October 3-29, 2023
University of Redlands Art Gallery
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 14 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Gallery Talk at 2:00 p.m.
The Appleton family, with the support of the University of Redlands, presents a show of the late Carol Koelsch Appleton’s artwork at the University Art Gallery located on the campus of the University of Redlands. Titled Extraordinary Light of the Every Day, the show features paintings and drawings that represent a retrospective review of Appleton’s art from the 1950s until she passed away earlier this year.
Carol Appleton is the late wife of James R. Appleton, University of Redland’s eighth president. They served the University together from 1987-2012 and remained actively engaged in the life of the University when they retired from their formal roles as President and First Lady.
Since her youth, Appleton sought out beauty in the mundane, depicting the extraordinary light she found in the every day. Subjects include diverse settings—rural Wisconsin, San Pedro, California, the Islands of Greece, and Redlands—but with common themes of bright light and dramatic shadows; architectural elements of stairs, doorways, and rooflines; hidden alleys and the backside of buildings; and the backdrop vistas of hills and the ocean.
As described by Los Angeles art critic Nancy Turner, “The exhibit is both a celebration and an examination of the artistic journey of Appleton from her student days until the last year of her life as she sought to find her voice and articulate her singular vision. Her art practice was grounded in drawing and direct observation, almost always of her surroundings as she focused on place, space, and light.”
Exhibition catalogue - $25
Ann Peppers Hall
Blue House, 1950 Oil on board, 18 x 22 inches - Wheaton series
Yellow House, 1950 Oil on board, 17 x 21 inches - Wheaton series
Hillside House, 1957 Oil on board, 16 x 12 inches - Wheaton series
Near the Tracks, 1957 Oil on board, 15.5 x 19.5 inches - Wheaton series
Barns, 1957 Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches - Wheaton series
Our Michigan Woods, 1966 Oil on canvas, 44 x 18 inches - Michigan series
Paint Rack One, 1970 Oil on canvas, 36 x 28 inches - Michigan series
Paint Rack Two, 1971 Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches - Michigan series
The Cathedral, 1971 Oil on canvas, 40 x 24 inches - Michigan series
Studio Window Study, 1971 Oil on canvas, 24 x 44 inches - Michigan series
Still Life 1, 1974 Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches - Southern California series
Still Life 2, 1974 Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches - Southern California series
Major Self-Portrait, 1975 Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 inches - Southern California series
Pool Study, 1975 Oil on canvas, 48 x 52 inches - Southern California series
San Pedro Bungalow, 1976 Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches - Southern California series
San Pedro Alley, 1976 Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches - Southern California series
Anaheim Street, 1976 Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches - Southern California series
Waiting, 1977 Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches - Southern California series
California Sun, 1977 Oil on canvas, 36 x 31 inches - Southern California series
Architectural Study, 1978 Oil on canvas, 40 x 36 inches - Southern California series
The Shoe Shop, 1992 Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Carson's Alley, 1992 Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Orange Door, 1992 Oil on canvas, 40 x 34 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Study in Abstraction Large Chapel, 1994 Oil on canvas, 34 x 40 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Blue Jug, 1995 Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Study in Contrasts, 2018 Oil on canvas, 34 x 40 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Elana Lives Here, 2003 Oil on canvas, 34 x 40 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
He Loved to Pose, 1997 Oil on canvas, 34 x 40 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
White on White, 1997 Oil on canvas, 40 x 34 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Folegandros Vista, 2006 Oil on canvas, 40 x 34 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
Mykonos Stairway, 2005 Oil on canvas, 36 x 30 inches - Redlands and the Greek Islands series
A Very Dark Shadow, 2021 Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches - The Pandemic series
Unexpected Angry Clouds, 2021 Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches - The Pandemic series
The Intervention, 2021 Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches - The Pandemic series