Edgar Payne and Laguna Beach

Payne first painted at Laguna Beach in 1909, settled there in 1918 and, the same year, became the first president of the Laguna Beach Art Association, the organization that became today's Laguna Art Museum.

First visit, 1909

On his first trip to California in 1909, Payne spent several months painting at Laguna Beach before moving on to San Francisco. He returned to California in 1911 and, after the 1917 Santa Fe Railway commission, he and Elsie made their home and studio in Laguna Beach in 1918.

The Laguna Beach Art Association

According to the Laguna Art Museum, in 1918 "Anna Hills, Edgar Payne, and other artists formed the Laguna Beach Art Association (LBAA) with the purpose 'to advance the knowledge of and interest in Art, and to create a spirit of cooperation and fellowship between the painter and the public.'" Payne was its first president. In 1929, after a fundraising drive led by Anna Hills, the association opened a custom-built gallery designed by the Los Angeles architect Myron Hunt; it survives as the Steele Gallery within the present museum building. The UC Irvine Langson museum also describes Payne as "a founding member and first president" of the association.

Laguna and coastal subjects

The Langson museum notes that Payne "produced dramatic coastal views and mountainous scenes." His Southern California work includes Laguna coves and eucalyptus, the hills of Altadena and the San Gabriel Mountains, and coastal subjects farther north such as Monterey. He also spent part of the summer of 1921 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, exhibiting at the local Arts and Crafts Club.

Remembered at the museum

The Laguna Art Museum holds a bronze relief portrait of Payne made by Elsie Palmer Payne in 1952.

Coastal and hill paintings sold by Steven Stern Fine Arts

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Sources

1. Laguna Art Museum, "Our History" (1918 founding of the Laguna Beach Art Association; 1929 gallery by Myron Hunt). lagunaartmuseum.org/history.
2. Wikipedia, "Edgar Payne" (citing Scott A. Shields et al., Edgar Payne: The Scenic Journey, 2012; the 1900 U.S. Census; American Art Annual). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Payne, accessed Oct. 2026.
3. UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, Edgar Payne, Snow in the High Sierras (acquired 2021; "Langson IMCA's collection includes eight other paintings by Payne"). langson.uci.edu/high-payne.