Arthur W. Best Mt. Diablo from San Pablo Dam

(1859-1935) Born in Mt. Pleasanton near Petersboro, Canada on July 17, 1859, Arthur and his brother Harry attended public school in Petersboro and were members of a small band. Arthur played the clarinet; Harry, the violin. When the band broke up in Oregon, the brothers moved to San Francisco in 1895. Arthur and his wife Alice established the Best Art School at 1625 California Street and a residence at 309 Broderick. He exhibited at the Mark Hopkins Institute in 1898 and 1904, and was a staff artist for the SF Examiner, 1904-06. Arthur was commissioned by Southern Pacific Railroad to paint pictures of the Southwest and Mexico for travel and tourist publicity in 1905. Many of his oils and watercolors were destroyed by the fire and earthquake of 1906. His landscapes include depictions of the Arizona desert, Grand Canyon and the Sierras. He died at the Peralta Hospital in Oakland on Jan. 26, 1935. Member: Bohemian Club; Berkeley League of Fine Art. Works held: Oakland Museum; Phoenix Art Museum; University of Oregon; Charles M. Russell Gallery, Great Falls, MT; Santa Fe Railroad Collection.