Raymond Dabb Yelland (1848-1900)

Painter. Born in London, England on February 2, 1848. At age three Yelland immigrated with his family to New York City where he was raised and attended public schools. By age twelve he had settled on an art career. He was born Raymond Dabb, but due to the negative connotation of the name, added his mother’s maiden name, Yelland. After serving under Sheridan in the Federal Army during the Civil War, he attended Pennington Seminary in New Jersey. He studied art at the National Academy of Design from 1869-1871 with Page and Brevoort, and then continued at that school as an instructor for one year. With his new bride, he sailed around the Horn to San Francisco in 1874 to assume the position of art instructor at Mills College in Oakland. He made a trip to England in 1877 and had further study in Paris with Luc Oliver Merson. Upon his return, Yelland became assistant director of the San Francisco School of Design and in 1888 assumed directorship. While at that school, he also taught at U.C. Berkeley for many years. His many pupils include Homer Davenport, Alexander Harrison, Maynard Dixon, and other noted artists. At his summer home on the Monterey Peninsula, he painted many coastals; whereas, the marshes near his home in Oakland also provided ample subject matter. A master at depicting sunsets and other atmospheric glow, his work is characterized by the clear, crisp style of the Hudson River School. Yelland maintained a studio in San Francisco at 430 Pine Street until his death of pneumonia at his home in East Oakland at 1464 7th Avenue on July 27, 1900. Exhibited: National Academy of Design; San Francisco Art Association; Paris Salon; Mechanics’ Institute Fairs; World’s Colombian Expo; California Midwinter International Expo; Mark Hopkins Institute. Works held: California Historical Society; Oakland Museum; First Congregational Church, Oakland; Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley; Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art.