Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 1, 2014

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 
11HOMES & PROPERTY Mountain Views News Saturday, February 1, 2014 
PASADENA SHOWCASE 
HOUSE FOR THE ARTS (PSHA)
HOLDS ENGLISH-THEMED 
EMPTY HOUSE PARTY 

PASADENA, Calif. It was an enchanted evening 
when over 500 guests attended the Pasadena 
Showcase House for the Arts (PSHA) annual 
Empty House Party. This event is the official 
announcement for PSHA’s annual benefit, 
Pasadena Showcase House of Design. It is also 
an opportunity for local dignitaries, our patrons, 

Many homeowners are still facing mortgage default, and while the best bet is to contact your lender 

and the media to see the 50th Showcase House 

directly, there are tempting advertisements out there for companies that claim they can solve your 

before it is transformed by a cadre of outstanding 

financial crisis. Fraud is rampant, so look out for the following warning signs. 

designers into the exquisite showplace the public 
has come to know and love for the last 49 years. 

First, don’t believe the hype when you hear, “We’ll stop the auction!” or, “Debt eliminated, guaran-

This year’s House will be featured, along with the 

teed!” If it sounds too good to be true, it is! 

49 past Showcase Houses in a commemorative 
book, 50 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design 

You should be suspicious of any company that tries to gain your trust by imitating a government 

Houses: Supporting the Arts Through Design. 

agency. They may (illegally) publish government logos and names, or even copy the look of an official 

 The 2014 Showcase House is a magnificent 

website, so pay attention to the details. 

1915 English country estate built in the Arts 
and Crafts style, designed by noted architect 

Back out of any deal that requires you to pay any fees upfront. There is no need to pay anyone to 

Stiles O. Clements, who also designed El Capitan 

modify your mortgage terms, because your lender, and only your lender, can do that. 

Theatre in Hollywood and the Mayan Theater in 
downtown Los Angeles. The estate features seven 

Most importantly, do not make mortgage payments to anyone but your lender. If a person or com-

bedrooms, including a nursery, a nanny’s room 

pany presents you with an official looking statement that indicates payments should now be made to 

and a traveler’s suite, ten baths, five fireplaces, a 

them, don’t walk – run for the door, and call the Better Business Bureau. 

media room, oak floors, redwood wall paneling, 
and floor to ceiling leaded glass windows. The 

By working directly with your lender, you may be able to modify your loan terms, or agree to a pay-off 

3.5 acre wooded grounds feature a lily pond, 
through a “short sale” listing. Please heed this advice from an experienced professional.

river-rock spring house, a variety of lovely 
gardens, a pool and dressing rooms, a tennis 
court, a greenhouse, a gardener’s potting shed 
and an outdoor kitchen. In addition, there is a 
chauffeur’s suite complete with sitting area and 
kitchenette located above the carriage house.

 Party guests were treated to a preview of what the 
26 designers from Southern California, have in 
mind as they transform the house from one that 
was in need of tender loving care to one that is 
dazzling. In each room, the 18 interior designers 
displayed color palettes, fabrics, and sketches for 
their visions of how Showcase House will appear 
when it opens to the public on April 13th. The 
8 exterior designers also shared their visions and 
plans for the gardens, greenhouse, pool area and 


MONET’S CLIFF BY THE SEA BECKON’S “CELESTIAL SLEUTHS” 
THE WORLD AROUND US 
Famed French Impressionist Claude Monet created a striking scene of the Normandy coast in his 1883 painting, 
“Étretat: Sunset.” Now, a team of Texas State University researchers, led by astronomer and physics professorDonald Olson, has applied its distinctive brand of forensic astronomy to Monet’s masterpiece, uncoveringpreviously unknown details about the painting’s origins.

 Olson, along with Texas State physics faculty member Russell Doescher and students Hannah Reynolds, AvaPope and Laura Bright, published their findings in the February 2014 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, on 
newsstands now.

 “Claude Monet, founding member of the Impressionist movement, painted a dramatic scene on the Normandycoast,” Olson said. “The canvas shows the orange disk of the Sun sinking toward the horizon near a spectacularline of cliffs.

 “We like to use astronomy to show students how science can solve real-world puzzles,” he explained. “Weasked, ‘Could we use the dramatic rocks in the landscape and the position of the setting sun to determine whereand when, specifically, Monet created this beautiful masterpiece?’”

 Monet painted a series of paintings featuring this stretch of the Normandy coast during a three-week visit tothe area during the winter of 1883. His painting “Étretat: Sunset” shows a cliff known as the Falaise d’Aval along 
with the arch Porte d’Aval overlapping a tall, needle-shaped rock spire known as Aiguille (the Needle) that standsjust offshore. Key to the image, however, is a low, setting sun just to the right of the landforms. Of all the paintings 
Monet painted at Étretat, this is the only canvas that includes the disk of the sun, and that one detail opens thedoor to dating the scene precisely.

 To determine on which days in February the sun would have set in the proper location for Monet to capture 
in his painting, the team of Texas State researchers traveled in August 2012 to France.

 Student Ava Pope hiked the beach to find exactly where Monet must have stood. “Ava is accustomed to difficulthiking terrain, and she said that the beaches near Étretat had the most difficult footing she’d ever been on in herlife. It’s really tough,” said Olson. “Monet went out there with all of his painting equipment!”

 The Texas State team found that the view matched the scene depicted in “Étretat: Sunset” at only one location—aspot 425 yards from the Porte d’Amont on a rocky beach under an overhanging cliff. 

Using planetarium software to compare the modern sky to that of the 19th century, the team was able to 
calculate that the sun would have set as shown in the painting on Feb. 5, 1883. Allowing for some uncertainty, theresearchers concluded that the correct date must fall in the range between Feb. 3 and Feb. 7, 1883.

 The group then combed through letters Monet wrote from Étretat during his stay, along with weather recordsand tide tables from February of 1883, to confirm their date. They discovered that on Feb. 3 Monet was workingon nearby Jambourg Beach and that the artist spent all day Feb. 4 entertaining his visiting brother. The tides of 
Feb. 6 did not match the painting, and Monet’s letters show that he paid close attention to the tides. On Feb. 7cloudy weather and rain storms began. Through the process of elimination, the calculated date of Feb. 5 is theonly one remaining that matches the sun’s position, the weather and the tide level in the painting.

 Armed with that knowledge, the Texas State team used the height of the needle-like Aiguille formation tocalculate the exact time from the altitude of the sun above the horizon.

 “We were able to determine the month, day, hour and precise minute—accurate to plus or minus one minute—
when Monet was inspired by that beautiful scene,” Olson said. “Monet observed this sunset on Feb. 5, 1883 at

4:53 p.m. local mean time.” 
You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com. 

patios.

 Current President, Donna Gotch remarked, “I 
am honored to serve PSHA as its President as we 
celebrate 65 years of volunteerism and the 50th 
Anniversary of our annual benefit, Pasadena 
Showcase House of Design. These are remarkable 
milestones for an all-volunteer organization. 
This year we feature yet another architecturally 
significant home for visitors to view the latest in 
both interior and landscape design.” 

 As guests journeyed through the mansion, they 
were able to experience the House in its “before” 
stage, and were treated to live music by a jazz 
quartet, and delicious culinary offerings from 
The Kitchen for Exploring Foods. The menu was 
English-inspired with foods such as Anne Bolyn 
Lemon Tarts, English Sticky Toffee Pudding, 
Stilton Cheese Terrine, English Braised Beef, 
and a very special 50th anniversary ice sculpture, 
making for a tasty and tasteful evening.

Vicki McCluggage and Charlotte Varner were 
Co-Chairs for the event. “We wanted to make it 
festive for the 50th and people are really noticing 
the extra touches, like the ice sculpture and the 
live music,” said McCluggage. “We are so happy to 
have some of our traditional designers return for 
the 50th anniversary. Designers such as John Cole 
(salon), Michael Berman (dining room), Cynthia 
Bennett (kitchen), and Kathryne Dahlman 
(the great room) are also loyal supporters of 
Showcase.”

 Varner reflected on what this party meant to her, 
“the Empty House party is a perfect kickoff to 
generate excitement about our project. The fact 
that it is the 50th Annual Showcase House is a 
tremendous accomplishment and we are excited 
to welcome all our guests. I was fortunate to have 
chaired the 40th Showcase House, and as I said 
then, and repeat now, every visitor to Showcase 
is contributing to the arts when they buy a ticket, 
dine at our Restaurant or shop at the Shops, all 
contributions enable us to fund music and arts 
programs in the community.” 

The 2014 Pasadena Showcase House of Design 
will be open to the public Sunday, April 13 through 
Sunday, May 11. For more information about PSHA, 
the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, or to order 
50 Years of Pasadena Showcase Design Houses, please 
visit www.PasadenaShowcase.org 

In addition to publication in the February 2014 issue of Sky & Telescope, the 
research into the Monet painting is one of two new projects included in Celes-
tial Sleuth: Using Astronomy to Solve Mysteries in Art, History and Literature, 
out now from Springer Praxis Books. The book collects many of Olson's past 
forensic astronomy studies published over the past 25 years, including such 

topics as the Boston Tea Party, Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain, the first 

Marathon run in ancient Greece; the works of Mary Shelley, Shakespeare, 
Walt Whitman, Omar Khayyam and Geoffrey Chaucer; and night skies depict-
ed by artists such as Edvard Munch, J.M.W. Turner and Vincent van Gogh.