Christine Miller High

View All – San Francisco Historical Paintings

Christine Miller High (1911-2010) was 4th generation San Franciscan. She studied at Miss Burke’s School where she began her art training and then continued her high school studies at Katherine Branson School. After graduating from high school she traveled extensively in the Orient and the Dutch West Indies and upon her return to SF entered the Fashion Art School for several years of study under Maria von Ridelstein. During summer sessions she had the opportunity to study under visiting instructor and master Eliot O’Hara. Mrs. High was a member of the Society of Western Artists and helped create the docent programs at the DeYoung Museum and Palace of Legion of Honor.

Her plein air watercolors explore scenes of 1940s San Francisco, and were acknowledged with the awarding of a one-woman show the de Young Museum in 1941, although it was never installed because of the outbreak of World War II. Her work was shown at the Oakland Museum.

These rare vintage paintings, courtesy of the High family, are being exhibited for the first time in decades. They are done mostly on heavy weight Veritable Papier D’Arches Torchon paper. Certain works are signed by the artist.