Born in Morristown, NJ on Nov. 25, 1863. Gamble’s father worked for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and when John was a teenager he moved with his family to Auckland, New Zealand. At age 20 he moved to San Francisco and began art training at the School of Design under Virgil Williams and Emil Carlsen. After further training in Paris at Academie Julian under Jean Paul Laurens and Benjamin-Constant, he returned to San Francisco and opened a studio. When his studio and most of the city went up in flames in 1906, he relocated to Santa Barbara and remained there for the rest of his life. Gamble did no commercial art work and earned his living throughout his career from the sale of his paintings. For 25 years he served as color consultant for the Santa Barbara Board of Architectural Review. Nationally known for his landscapes, his paintings often include poppies, lupine, and other wild flowers against the greens and purples of the California hills.

Member: San Francisco Art Association; Santa Barbara Art Association; American Federation of Arts; Foundation of Western Artists.

Exhibited: California Midwinter International Expo, 1894; Mark Hopkins Institute, 1898, 1906; Alaska-Yukon Expo, Seattle, 1909 (gold medal); San Francisco Art Association, 1916; Stendahl Galleries, LA, 1938; Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939.

Works Held: California Historical Society; Oakland Museum; Crocker Museum, Sacramento; Shasta State Park; Museum of Art, Auckland, New Zealand; Fox Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara (murals).

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