Francis “Frank” Harvey Cutting 1872 - 1964 Francis Cutting was born on a farm near Riceville, Iowa on October 8, 1872. As a young lad, his parents moved to California’s Santa Clara Valley. In 1893 at age 21 he settled in Campbell. Upon graduation from San Jose State College, he taught school for a short while in 1900 near Paso Robles but soon opted for an art career. This career change was aided by an inheritance from an uncle, leaving Francis free of financial worry so he could devote all of his time to painting. During the 1920s Cutting set up his studio in Pacific Grove. There, he studied with William Adam, Arthur Hill Gilbert, Charles Harmon, and Frank Pebbles. He and his wife had one son, named Ted. In 1927 Cutting joined the nascent Carmel Art Association; concurrently he began building a family home with a studio at 125 Harrison Avenue in Campbell. He remained there until his death on June 8, 1964. A prolific Impressionist painter, Cutting used a rich color palette and traveled often to create vivid plein air landscapes of California’s Central Coast, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Columbia River, Crater Lake, Redwood Highway, Death Valley, and the Santa Cruz mountains. While best known for his outdoor compositions and dramatic coastal views, he also produced marine paintings and still lifes. He was equally successful with oils as watercolors. The California Art and Engraving Company reproduced 20 of his best paintings as notecards and commissioned Cutting to paint about half of the old California Missions.As one reviewer wrote, “Cutting was a born nature lover. California’s stately redwoods have inspired some of his most interesting canvases. From these he has turned with delicate touch to the portrayal of a fruit orchard in full blossom, a field of poppies, or a view of the Pacific enshrouded in mist. Many of his paintings have been purchased by private collectors and are treasured possessions in hundreds of homes throughout California.”His paintings were exhibited at San Jose State College (1897 and 1926), California State Fair (1923, 1930, 1931, and 1932), Stanford University Art Gallery (1925, 1928, 1933, and 1939), Campbell Kiwanis Club (1927), Oakland Art Gallery (1932 and 1934), Santa Cruz Art League (1934-1937), Gump's Department Store in San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor (1930s), and Carmel Art Association.