Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1283918
Capturing California with a Creative Eye Monterey Peninsula's Love Affair with Ar t B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D duced: paved roads were bringing more and more people. The advent of electricity was assaulting the area's soft candle- and star-lit nights with ar tificial illumination and its beloved pristine landscape with power lines and poles. Terry Trotter, owner of Trotter Galleries (trot- tergalleries.com) with his wife Paula adds, "These artists wanted to capture the feeling of Old Monterey and Carmel. Seeing that the land- scape was changing, they consciously wanted to preserve the sense of what it was like for pos- terity. They knew it would never be the same." The stories of these ar tists are entwined with that of the modern Monterey Peninsula itself. The first ar t galler y in the state devoted exclusively to California ar tists was in the lux- urious Del Monte Hotel, built by the railroad barons who connected the Golden State with the rest of the nation. Their intent was not altogether altruistic. The wealthy guests who purchased these lovely por trayals of the Monterey area took them home where they were seen by their influential friends who in turn planned trips west, perhaps inspiring them to purchase proper ty on the Peninsula. In shor t, they were sales tools. But it was a win-win for the ar tists whose work command- ed high prices. The number of painters that fit this category number in the scores. Here are seven whose work is of the highest caliber and is still highly sought after today. Each was also highly influen- tial to those who followed. 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 2 0 115