Lauritz painted a wide variety of landscape themes, including dramatic Alaskan snow scenes and coastal views but received the most acclaim for his paintings of the desert. He made his first trip to the desert in 1920 and often camped near Palm Springs and the Salton Sea. In his characteristic desert paintings Lauritz sought to capture the effect of bright light. These fairly tonal paintings convey a certain stillness and peace. In Desert Landscape he contrasts the quiet of the desert with the drama of a mountain storm. As do all his paintings, Desert Landscape displays the simple and broad technique Lauritz achieved using exceptionally large brushes.
This painting and a canvas of identical size depicting the Pico House, n.d. (LACMNH), hung for years in the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The hotel, which opened in 1927, was designed by Charles Whittlesey in the rococo Spanish Colonial revival style popular in the 1920s.
