George Scott Miller (1902 - 1957)

This painting depicts the much-storied boat Owl arriving at its home dock in Bolinas. Painted from a 1919 photo, we can identify many local characters in the image, including a famous woman tennis star, and the Chinese laundry man. When the Owl was arriving, locals would dress up to meet arriving passengers from San Francisco. The Owl served from 1911 to 1933 as the last commuter boat of 80 years of Bolinas maritime history. The captain, Louis Petar, was father-in-law to the artist’s brother Bill Miller. The painting was given to Bolinas Museum by Margi Miller de Greeve, granddaughter of Captain Petar, and niece of the artist, who was instrumental in the development of Bolinas Museum.

The artist’s family were important early settlers and land owners in Marin County in the 1800s. George was born in Alaska where his parents ran a mercantile during the Yukon Gold Rush. In 1911, Miller’s family bought the old Briones house—the original Rancho Las Baulines homestead and George Scott Miller lived there much of the rest of his life.