Donna Norine Schuster - (American, 1883-1953)
 
This original oil painting on board is of two women sitting on a park bench enjoying a afternoon chat, measures 7-1/2" x 8" or in the period wood frame dimensions of 8-1/2" x 9" and is signed lower left, Donna Schuster. The painting is in very good condition with no notable visible defects or under blacklight. 
 
Biography: 
Donna Norine Schuster was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Jan. 6, 1883, the daughter of a wealthy cigar manufacturer. Schuster studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Boston Museum School under Tarbell and Benson. In 1912 she joined William M. Chase on a painting tour of Belgium and, after her move to Southern California the next year she again studied with Chase in his summer class in Carmel. In 1923 she built a home in the Los Angeles hills overlooking Griffith Park where she spent her remaining years. 
 
During the 1920s Schuster taught at Otis Art Institute and was active as an organizer and exhibitor in several artist groups. Her subject matter included harbor scenes, landscapes and figure studies in both oil and watercolor. Her early works show the influence of Monet and Chase. However, having studied with Stanton MacDonald-Wright during her later years, she experimented with various modern idioms including Cubism and Abstract Expressionism. 
 
Member: California Art Club (cofounder); Society of Independent Artists; West Coast Arts Club; California Watercolor Society (president); Laguna Beach Art Association; Women Painters of the West (cofounder). 
 
Exhibited: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1914, 1917, 1920, 1927 (with Mabel Alvarez), 1929 ( with Elanor Colburn); New York Academy of Fine Art; New York Watercolor Society (President); American Watercolor Society; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Golden Gate International Exhibition, 1939; San Francisco Art Association. Awards: William M. Chase prize, 1912; Gold Medal, Minnesota Art Exhibition, 1913; Silver medal, Panama Pacific International Exhibition, 1915; Silver medal, Panama-California International 
 
Exhibition, San Diego, 1915; Silver medal, Northwest Exhibition, St. Paul , MN, 1915; First prize, California Art Club, 1921; First prize, California Watercolor Society, 1926 and many others. Works held: Downey, CA, Museum of Art; Laguna Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Oakland Museum; Fleischer Museum, Scottsdale, AZ; The Irvine Museum, Irvine, CA. (Source: Hughes, Edan Milton, "Artists in California: 1786-1940," San Francisco: Hughes Publishing Company, 1989).