Louis Siegriest (1899–1989): California Painter of Myth and Landscape Louis Bassi Siegriest (Oakland, CA. 1899 – November 7, 1989) was a major California artist who lived and painted in Virginia City, Nevada, during the 1940s. He established a studio there after moving from New York City where he had begun his artistic journey as an Impressionist, evolving into an Abstract Expressionist. Siegriest’s distinctive style blended meticulous observation of the natural world with symbolic representations rooted in Native American mythology and folklore—a combination that cemented his place among th…