I have taken the title for this exhibition of California Impressionist paintings, lent by The Irvine Museum, from the magazine The Land of Sunshine, published by the colorful Charles Lummis between 1894 and 1902. With a large national circulation, this monthly magazine touted the pleasures of Southern California: its year-round sunshine, temperate climate, and indigenous culture. Backed by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, The Land of Sunshine did what it set out to do–lure many people to move to the Los Angeles area. Among these were artists who would soon make this region a mecca for Impressionist landscape painting.

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