A bold view of the California beach community of Santa Monica in 1944 is enriched with the dramatic flair of heavy impasto and coloration by artist David Burliuk. The period view offers a warmth that entices repeated viewing to uncover new discoveries with each session. It is a surreal work in coloration yet starkly realistic in overall composition, a juxtaposition that could well apply to the artist himself.

Burliuk was a world traveler, and the Russian-born American citizen prided himself in his two homelands. He celebrated their beauty in paintings, prose and poetry, and would sometimes compose a pair of works to complement each other. Here he has specifically commissioned a New York framer to create this painting's frame to his specifications.

The complex texture adds levels to the work within the buildings and populated shoreline activities, and its yesteryear charm is complemented as a preview into the future with its elevated multi-storied buildings alongside the charming beach cottages and tight, small town business district of the growing city. The artistry present in this one painting echo Burliuk's many accomplishments and his philosophical nature of life's simple essence.