Jack Stuppin Obituary, Death – Jack Stuppin, an artist with a national reputation, is responsible for developing a landscape style that is so arresting, with its vivid reds, yellows, greens, and oranges, that admirers of his work have reported seeing “Stuppin hills” as they traveled around Sonoma County. The painter stated in an interview with The Press Democrat in 2009 that “we’ve had hundreds of people tell me they can’t travel across Northern California now without seeing the scenery in a different manner.”
Stuppin was renowned as an ardent and passionate promoter for the arts in Sonoma County. He was a large man with a loud voice. According to his wife, Diane Stuppin, he passed away quietly on Tuesday at his home in Sebastopol at the age of 89. Coronary artery disease was found to be the root cause of death. Jack had a personality that was larger than life, and he will be missed by everybody who knew him,” said Jeff Nathanson, executive director of the Museum of Sonoma County. “Jack was a true gentleman.”
Before turning his attention to painting, Stuppin was a prosperous businessman. However, he is best remembered as a member of the historic Sonoma Four and as a co-founder of the group. The other members of this group were the late William Morehouse and Bill Wheeler, as well as the artist Tony King of Freestone. In 1992, the four artists embarked on a cross-country journey in two vehicles, taking forty days to travel from California to Maine.
Along the way, they made frequent stops to paint in an effort to raise awareness of the art of plein-air, on-location landscape painting at a time when many other artists preferred to work from photographs. That ended up being a great shared experience that brought the four of us closer together. According to King, the lone surviving member of the Sonoma Four, who is 78 years old, “It brought out the disparities in the personalities of the four of us.”
“When we arrived to Lake George in New York, I hiked up on a hill to work alone,” King continued. “When we got there, we were the only people there.” “Jack erected his tent on the shoulder of the road. Soon, there was a crowd of people surrounding him, and he delighted in the attention.
According to King, Stuppin was an artist who also possessed the talents and manner of a successful businesswoman. He discovered early on that he felt comfortable around wealthy and powerful people,” he said. “He found out about this early on.” It was no issue for him to get in touch with the director of the museum.