Lot 1070: Tom Huston (American, 1945-2009) Sea Level Rise, Santa Barbara, 2007 34 x 68in

Sea Level Rise, Santa Barbara, 2007
signed and dated 'Huston 07' (lower right)
oil on canvas on panel
34 x 68in

Note:
In 2007, Santa Barbara's city council approved plans to draw a 1000-foot blue line along city streets to show where the sea would rise if most of Greenland's glaciers were to melt. The "lightblueline" project generated a storm of controversy and was halted due to concern for property values on the wrong side of the line. In conjunction with the "lightblueline" project, Huston painted flooded Santa Barbara scenes to draw attention to global warming. As Huston said, "Like it or not, we are all in the same boat...the infrastructural change coming to coastal cities globally is unprecedented in human history. It will affect us all. Inundation is going to change our estuaries, highways, railroads, agricultural landscapes and the myriad of species that depend on them for life." Sadly, Huston passed away unexpectedly in 2009. His work has been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Forum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara City Hall, The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art and other venues.