Portfolio > Berkeley Campus Scenes by Pedro J. Lemos

Founder's Rock, UC Berkeley Campus, PedroJ. Lemos
Founder's Rock
Digital Print on Woodblock
5 1/2" X 7"

Founder’s Rock is a woodblock print by PEDRO JOSEPH LEMOS (1882-1954).

The rock still stands on the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road, reputedly the spot where the trustees of the College of California, which became soon after the University of California, Berkeley, met on April 16, 1860 to dedicate the newly-acquired property. It is also, tradition says, the same spot where Frederick Billings stood in 1866 when he recalled a verse of Bishop Berkeley -- "Westerward the course of empire takes it way" -- and thus inspired the name of the new city.

Lemos was among the most influential of the Bay Area's artists and educators of the “Arts and Crafts” era, who was not only an important artist and educator of the applied arts and design in numerous media, but also as an architectural designer, writer, publisher, painter, and printmaker.

This print and its companions in the “Berkeley” series were produced for the “Blue and Gold” Yearbook of the University of California’s Class of 1917. They have been digitally scanned on high-quality graphic paper and fused on a wooden block with recessed bracing for immediate wall-mounting. A clear coat of UV film has been applied to protect and enhance color stability.