Artist, craftsman, teacher, and author William Seltzer Rice (American, 1873–1963) was twenty-seven when he came to California in 1900 to teach art in the Stockton public schools. He traveled, sketched, and painted throughout the state and familiarized himself with its history, flora, and fauna. In 1910 he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, continuing his career in teaching and taking an active part in the Arts and Crafts movement. Rice would make his name there as an artist and devoted educator, using his skillfully drafted drawings as instructive tools. His work as a teacher allowed ample time for travel and art, and he usually painted en plein air, faithfully recording the beauty of the western landscape. His earliest paintings reflect the wonder of the Sierra Nevada, particularly the Yosemite Valley.
Rice worked in several media, watercolor among them, but ultimately favored block printing as a means of bringing original art within reach of many people. Rice’s elegant paintings and prints were exhibited widely and are now found in many museum collections worldwide.
Contains five each of the following notecards:
Half Dome, n.d.
Yosemite Falls, 1901