William Posey Silva (Tennessee/California, 1859-1948), California seascape depicting a shore with towering rocks, oil on canvas laid down on board. Signed lower left. Later giltwood frame. 9" x 12" sight, 16-5/8" x 19-7/8" framed. Biography: William Posey Silva was born in Savannah, Georgia and spent his first fifty years of life successfully running his family's chinaware business. In 1887 he moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee and began taking art instruction. He enrolled in the Academie Julian in Paris as a student of Jean Paul Laurens and also painted with American impressionist Chauncey Ryder; his first solo exhibition was in 1909 at the Georges Petit Gallery in Paris. That same year he returned to Chattanooga and began winning American acclaim for his impressionistic landscapes depicting the Chattanooga area and Georgia pine forests. He won the silver medal at the 1910 Appalachian Exposition in Knoxville. Silva moved to California in 1913, where he joined the California Art Club and the Salmagundi Club. Condition: Thin paint along top edge and at two 1/2" and 1/4" diameter spots in upper sky, possibly abrasions. Light grime. Scattered small abrasions to frame. Canvas has been laid down on board. Condition: Thin paint along top edge and at two 1/2" and 1/4" diameter spots in upper sky, possibly abrasions. Light grime. Scattered small abrasions to frame. Canvas has been laid down on board.