Summer in North Wilton by Charles Reiffel is very similar to the painting Summer Design (owned by the San Diego Museum of Art), which is illustrated in Plein Air Painters of California - The Southland, page 205. Summer Design is 34 x 42 inches and appears to be a studio painting. It is quite possible that Summer in North Wilton was painted directly outdoors in the open air, prior to Summer Design, as the colors are richer and more natural in appearance than the studio work. Both of these works were painted in the 1920's.

Landscape painter, lithographer. Born in Indianapolis, IN on April 9, 1862. Reiffel worked in Cincinnati for the Stowbridge Lithography Company and later continued in lithography in New York City and in England. While in Europe, he studied briefly with Carl Marr at the Munich Academy, but was essentially a self-taught painter. After six years in Europe, he returned to Buffalo, New York shortly after the turn of the century and continued in the lithography business. It was during this period that his modern approach to painting began to attract favorable notices. In 1912 he purchased a home in Silvermine, CT while continuing to commute to New York City to tend to his lithography business. About 1921 Reiffel abandoned lithography to devote full time to easel painting. In 1925 he and his wife visited San Diego and were so enchanted with the area they opted to remain. His Southern California landscapes brought him national acclaim.

Member: Arts Club of Washington, DC; Cin’ti Art Club; Conn. Society of Artists; Contemporary Artists of San Diego (co-founder); Salmagundi Club; San Diego Art Guild (pres. 1928); Silvermine Artists Guild; Hoosier Salon; North Shore AA. Exh: Buffalo Society of Artists, 1908 (prize); PPIE, 1915; AIC, 1917 (silver medal); PAFA, 1920; Int'l Expo (Pittsburgh), 1922; Carnegie Inst. (Pittsburgh), 1922, 1931; LACMA, 1923, 1926, 1929 (prizes); Hoosier Salon, 1925, 1938 (grand prize); San Diego FA Gallery, 1926, 1927, 1928 (prizes); Stendahl Gallery (LA), 1927; Arizona State Fair, 1928; Ebell Club (LA), 1928; Calif. Art Club, 1928 (gold medal); Newhouse Gallery (LA), 1928; Calif. Statewide (Santa Cruz), 1929 (grand prize); Herron Art Inst., 1929 (1st prize); Calif. State Fair, 1930 (1st prize), 1934; Painters of the West, 1929-30 (gold medal); Pasadena Art Inst., 1930, 1931; Ilsley Gallery (LA), 1932; Foundation of Western Art (LA), 1934; Laguna Beach AA, 1934; Biltmore Hotel (LA), 1934; Calif.-Pacific Int'l Expo (San Diego), 1935; GGIE, 1939; Montecito Country Club, 1940. In: CGA; San Diego Museum; LACMA; Phoenix Municipal Collection; Santa Cruz Art League; Memorial Jr. High School (San Diego); Irvine (CA) Museum.

(Source: Hughes, Edan Milton, "Artists in California: 1786-1940," San Francisco: Hughes Publishing Company, 1989.)