Lucia Mathews was a major figure in the early Arts and Crafts scene in San Francisco. She designed and carved furniture, decorative arts, and painted murals in addition to oil paintings, watercolors and gouaches. Along with her artist husband Arthur, she paved a path toward San Francisco’s aesthetic recovery following the 1906 earthquake. Lucia Mathews often painted lyrical scenes that reflect the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement—simplicity, harmony with nature, and quiet contemplation. Girl Holding a Shell by the Shore was in all likelihood painted in Monterey, California, where Lucia and Arthur spent many summers. She conveys a mood of introspection and innocence, allowing the solitary figure and sand, churning waves and shoreline to suggest a poetic relationship between childhood and the rhythms of nature.
Lucia Mathews paintings are almost never seen on the market. This work of art has been in a private collection for a half-century.