Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona. This scene was painted near the Salton Sea, which was created in 1905 when the Colorado River flooded California's Imperial and Coachella Valleys.
Frost painted Impressionist views of the California desert and the Sierra. After training in France and spending time in Giverny, where Claude Monet lived, Frost contracted tuberculosis and was hospitalized in Switzerland. Following his partial recovery in 1914, he became a successful illustrator in New York. Seeking a drier climate for his health, he moved to Pasadena, California, in the late 1910s. There, he was greatly influenced by painter Guy Rose, whose works are also on view in this gallery.