Fortunato Arriola

Fortunato Arriola (1827–1872), born in Cosala, Sinaloa, Mexico, was a painter of portraits and luminous tropical landscapes that were very popular in San Francisco, California, where he came to live in 1857. The son of a wealthy landowner, Arriola was a handsome, distinguished and cultivated man. He was self-taught as an artist and began his career painting portraits. He had a studio near the corner of Kearney and Clay Streets that was a gathering place for Mexican exiles, a place of intellectual ferment and the occasional brawl. Among his students were Toby Rosenthal and Ransom Holdredge.^[1]

Sunset on the Sacramento River, 1869, Cantor Art Center, Stanford University

In 1872, he traveled to New York City to exhibit two paintings at the National Academy of Design. He died at sea on the return trip when his ship, the Bienville, which was carrying a load of gunpowder, exploded. Arriola left a widow and twelve children.

Museum collections

• California Historical Society
• Cantor Art Center, Stanford University
• Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
• Oakland Museum of California
• Courthouse Museum, Shasta State Historic Park

Several additional paintings are in the private collection of actor Steve Martin.

References