Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/357002
whose art program she'd preferred. Despite much-loved teachers at Stanford, art schools in Mexico and Paris, and studies with imposing abstract expressionist Clyfford Still and Bay Area figurative painter David Park at the San Francisco School of Fine Ar ts (now San Francisco Art Institute), Van Hoesen resisted the prevailing art world environment. The convolu- tions of mid-20th Century abstraction sur- rounded her, but she remained steadfast to her own artistic vision. Dodds clearly remembers her first drives up steep, unfamiliar San Francisco streets to collect Van Hoesen's prints in her gallery's early days. Only by making these forays to the artist's 1909 converted firehouse home and studio could she acquire the works she wanted to show. The fire- house was also a well-known artistic landmark where Van Hoesen and her artist husband Mark Adams hosted weekly life drawing sessions reg- ularly attended by such illustrious Bay Area artists as Wayne Thiebaud, Gordon Cook, and Theophilus Brown. For the upcoming exhibition, the Nancy Dodds Gallery has gathered together a selection of Van Hoesen's iconic animal and plant prints such as the owl "Buster" (1982), the polar bear "Pike" (1988), and the still life "Poppies in Oriental Bowl" (1981). The E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Trust have been extremely generous in sharing Beth Van Hoesen's artwork with West Coast galleries and art institutions. The Winfield Gallery, itself a Carmel landmark, is also presenting a selection of Van Hoesen's prints, drawings, and watercolors. The Monterey Museum of Art has also benefited from a gift of 16 of Van Hoesen's prints and nine of her drawings. All in all, the artist has a significant presence in the area. A new book, "Fauna & Flora, Beth Van Hoesen," with more than 90 full-color repro- ductions has just been released. Van Hoesen's humble subjects and unpretentious composi- tions may have kept her from the mainstream art world. Nevertheless, her technical mastery and her vibrant and intimate approach to rep- resenting the life she observed reveal a depth of artistry that touches the human spirit. The Nancy Dodds Gallery is located at 7th and San Carlos in Carmel. 831/624-0346 or www.nan- cydoddsgallery.com. The Winfield Gallery is located on Dolores between Ocean and 7th in Carmel. 831/624-3369 or www.winfieldgaller y.com. The Monterey Museum of Art has two locations: 559 Pacific St. and 720 Via Mirada, Monterey. 831/372-5477 or www.montereyart.org. Van Hoesen was a scholar of the observable world who was captivated as much by the seemingly insignificant as by the remarkable. B E T H V A N H O E S E N Box 6016 7th and San Carlos Carmel, Ca 93921 • 831-624-0346 ndg@nancydoddsgallery.com • NancyDoddsGallery.com Maharani 15 1/2"x13" C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 4 207