Lorenzo Latimer’s “Old Tree Near Schoolhouse, Old Virginia Road, Reno”

Among his many club memberships, the most rewarding affiliation was the Bohemian Club of San Francisco, still in existence today. Originally founded in 1872, members comprising of writers, artists, poets, singers, and musicians were required to make significant contributions in the Arts onbehalf of the Bohemian Club in order to maintain their membership.

The Bohemian Club owned a retreat called The Grove in Northern California; it comprised an ancient stand of redwoods by the Russian River with which Latimer became familiar and greatly influenced his paintings. He celebrated the magnificent redwood forests and showcased their beauty in his work. Latimer worked in oils but was best known for his watercolor studies. Some of his finest paintings were of Nevada and Yosemite where he embodied the beauty of the streams, rivers, and valleys in summer or autumn days. 

Much of Laitimer’s work was done in the field or what is known as “Plein-air” painting. It was during these “Plein-air” excursions in the early 20th century that he captured the Sierra’s and numerous scenes of Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake. His landscapes and redwood trees won gold medals at fairs and expositions in Chicago and San Francisco. It was during his trips to the Tahoe area that Latimer began teaching students lessons in “Plein-Air” in Reno, Nevada.