Last month, I was asked by Elaine & Peter Adams of the California Art Club to speak to a group — largely made up of artists and art historians — about Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (Valencia, 1863 – Madrid, 1921). Sorolla has long been admired by traditional artists for his remarkable skills. A large portion of my Masters thesis and Doctoral dissertation were about how Sorolla was trained in those skills.

The year 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of Sorolla’s death, which was celebrated by around 45 exhibitions in at least four countries. I was able to see 38 of those exhibitions, and hope to include my experiences in a forthcoming book. (Stay tuned.) In the meantime, I used this lecture to talk briefly about some of my conclusions.