Delving Into the Collection

The venerable Santa Barbara Club hosted a fascinating talk by Santa Barbara Museum of Art docent Lori Mohr about the State Street institution’s latest exhibition featuring the art of the late uber philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree and her husband Paul. There are 58 works in all, of primarily 19th century British and French provenance.

After her death at the age of 98 two years ago, Leslie, a good friend, donated 31 of the works by such luminaries as Gustave Corbet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, and Paul Signac, as well as Barbizon artists including Theodore Rousseau, Charles-François Daubigny, and Charles Jacque.

Mohr, who has published the monthly docent newsletter for 15 years, looked at the works from inside and outside the frame giving a fascinating view of the times during massive cultural changes.

Afterwards, guests – including members of the Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub – walked over to the museum for a tour of the exhibition, which closed Sunday, with docent Ralph Wilson.

Among the diners at lunch were Anne Smith Towbes, Rebecca Brand, Hiroko Benko, Maria McCall, Orman and Ricky Gaspar, John Bowers, Judy Frank, and Peggy Mathis.