Gordena Parker Jackson (1900 - 1993)

Gordena Parker Jackson (1900 - 1993), Canyon with Bridge, 1939, watercolor on paper, signed and dated lower right, 17 ½ x 13 inches (sight), inscription verso reads: “Watercolor Competition Show / Washington D. C. 1940 [or 1941] F. W. A.”

$2750

Gordena Parker Jackson was a California painter, graphic artist, craftsperson, and designer. A native of Pleasanton, Jackson studied at the California College of Arts & Crafts and lived much of her life in the Bay Area. In 1925, she married fellow artist Frederic Osman Jackson (known also as “Ajax” or “Jaxon”) and they established a joint studio in Berkley, specializing in “wood-block printing on dresses, draperies, etc. Batiks. Parchment Shades. Decorating, Screens. Cards, mottos, etc. Photo-coloring. Commercial Designs.” Later during the 1930s, Jackson became best known for clearly delineated and richly-toned watercolor landscapes such as Canyon with Bridge. Her works bear a similarity to fellow West Coast painter Vanessa Helder. During the mid to late 1930s, Jackson worked for the Federal Art Project as part of the Index of American Design. Three dozen of her works for the Index are in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery. She exhibited at the Albany Institute of History and Art, the National Academy of Design, the Oklahoma Art Center, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Oakland Art Gallery, the Texas Fine Art Association, the Laguna Beach Art Association, the California State Fair, the National Gallery of Art, the Santa Cruz Art League, and as part of National Arts Week. Mills College and Stanford University both honored Jackson with solo exhibitions in 1933 and 1939, respectively. She was represented by Gelber-Lilienthal Gallery in San Francisco. Her work is in the collections of the University of California Berkley and she is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and other standard references.