Painting the coast redwoods on the Russian River, Sonoma County.

Tilden Daken–Artist and Adventurer

Famous in his day, Tilden Daken (1876-1935) was one of the most prolific and adventurous painters in the American West. His expeditions stretched from the High Sierra to the depths of the Pacific Ocean in a diving bell. A fresco painter early in his career, he is primarily known as: the Painter of the Valley of the Moon; Painter of the Redwoods; Painter of the California State Parks and National Parks of the West; the Key of Red Painter; and the Submarine Painter. Best of all, he penned short stories chronicling some of his most celebrated adventures. 

Born in Illinois and raised in Sacramento, his story begins and ends in California’s Mother Lode. He lived in San Francisco, Glen Ellen, Santa Rosa, Mill Valley, Mazatlán, Greenwich Village, and Georgetown, California. His deeply rooted passion for art, nature, color and music began as a child and remained until his death at age fifty-eight. He is buried in the historic Pioneer Cemetery in Georgetown, in Eldorado County. Read more about his life on Wikipedia.

“Few men have had such varied experiences as Tilden Dakin. Whether he was braving the Mexican war between Villa and Carranza, where he was wounded three times and once held prisoner for eight weeks, or “dancing around like a crazy man” to keep from freezing to death while painting the Piute Pass in midwinter; facing the unknown terrors of the ocean depths to secure true submarine views; tempting the headhunters of New Guinea or riding the brake beams with his friend Jack London—always he thought of his art and sought to put true pictures of the world around him on canvas.”

-Art critic, Harry Noyes Pratt, “Tilden Dakin to Make Music Key Paintings.” Berkeley Daily Gazette, October 6, 1927.

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Tilden Daken painting on the rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead, 1923.

Tilden Daken painting on the Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead, 1923.

Tilden Daken painting on the lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915.

Tilden Daken painting on the lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915.