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Breakers crash on the beautifully chiseled coastline, the sun sweeps across undulating hills, and artists set out to paint the idyllic setting that is Monterey Bay. The peninsula has a deep, rich history as one of the West Coast’s earliest artist colonies and was the epicenter of early California Impressionism, a style that prevails more than a century after San Francisco Bohemian Jules Tavernier came to war-torn Monterey in 1875 on commission to sketch the mission at Carmel.
The art colony owes much to Tavernier, whose influence drew many other important artists to the area, which was a breath of fresh air — with majestic mountains, canyons, forests, and a sun-drenched coastline — compared to the largely gray East Coast regions where Impressionism was thriving.
Geography proves vital in this genre. “The early painters working in Giverny and Grez had neither the coast nor the mountains to explore and pictorially exploit as did the Californians,” says William H. Gerdts, professor of art history at the Graduate School of the City University of New York and author of numerous books on American and California Impressionism. “The earlier painters in the Northeast usually chose intimate landscapes — often their own home environment — rather than the expansive landscapes.”
The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco triggered an influx of artists to Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Pebble Beach. By 1915, the Monterey art colony had matured and gained national acclaim at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, a celebration of the Panama Canal and the largest art show ever held in the state.
Today, early California paintings by Guy Rose, William Wendt, William Ritschel, Armin Hansen, Charles Rollo Peters, Francis McComas, and Arthur Matthews continue to draw great interest at museums and prices at galleries.
However, this dreamy location is hardly in a time warp. In the last 50 years, modern and contemporary art have taken their place, albeit in distinct niches of artists and galleries. Still dominated by Impressionist canvases, the Monterey Peninsula’s art scene offers collectors a variety of styles.
Carmel’s standout dealers of early California Impressionist paintings include William A. Karges Fine Art, George Stern Fine Arts, James J. Reiser Fine Art, and Westbrook Galleries. Contemporary landscape paintings prevail in many other galleries, such as Trajan Gallery, Del Malonee Fine Art, Classic Art Galleries, and Phillips Gallery.
Enthusiasts who lean toward modern and contemporary art will find satisfying original works and limited-edition fine prints at Dawson Cole Fine Art, Oliver, Elliott and Sebastian Fine Art, Rodrigue Studio, Gallerie Amsterdam, and the 80-year-old, artist-owned Carmel Art Association.
