A new exhibit, “Phil Dike: A Birds-eye View,” will open Saturday at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art.

The exhibit presents a fresh look at the work of Phil Dike, one of Claremont’s renowned painters of the 20th century. Dike was best known for his coastal scenes and his raw, confident brushstrokes, and the exhibit presents works from his favored high point of view as well as his abstract approach to California scenes, according to a news release.

Phil Dike, who was born in Redlands and graduated from Redlands High School in 1924, attended the Chouinard School of Art in Los Angeles from 1924 to 1927. In 1929, he went to New York to study at the Art Students League and also spent time in the studio of Ash Can School artist George Luks (1867-1933).

After returning to Los Angeles, Dike taught at Chouinard for a year before traveling to Europe to study in France at the American Academy of Fontainebleau. He resumed teaching at Chouinard in 1931 and was prominent in the California regionalist movement of the 1930s and 1940s. Between 1935 and 1945, he was a color coordinator and story designer for Walt Disney Studios, according to the news release.

Dike was also a friend of artist Rex Brandt, and together they established the Brandt-Dike Summer School at Brandt’s home in Corona del Mar.

He became a faculty member at Scripps College and Claremont Graduate University in 1950, and over time his artistic style shifted from realism to a more abstract approach. By the 1960s, his work tended toward total abstraction, conveying a sense of mysticism.

Following his retirement in 1970, he lived in Claremont and Cambria until he died in 1990.

The exhibition at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art is arranged in three sections, each offering a different artistic experience. The McIntosh gallery houses artwork that depicts specific times and places, the middle gallery showcases a collection of artworks employing the “bird’s-eye view” perspective, and the last gallery features works from local and regional collections, offering a tapestry of artistic styles and influences.

The exhibit opens with a reception 6-9 p.m. Sept. 7 and runs through Nov 24.

The Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, at 200 W. First St., is open noon-4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, and admission is free every Friday.

For information, go to clmoa.org.