Going to a gallery can feel like time travel, encountering pieces that were created in different centuries yet feel connected through a shared artistic legacy. With a new exhibition called Ladies of Light,Carmel Fine Art Gallery explores the sororal relationship between three pioneering historic California women artists and seven contemporary female artists who continue to trailblaze the way for the next generation.
Sarah Lamb, Sadie’s Peonies, oil, 15 x 17"
Gallery owner and director, Lorelei Gabel, loved the idea of doing a show featuring all women artists. “I wanted to do a show like this for a while,” she says. “I thought it was a great theme because all throughout the history of art women have been traditionally unsung.”
The early artists include Mary DeNeale Morgan (1868-1948), Jennie Vennerstrom Cannon (1869-1952) and Edith White (1855-1946). Each artist was ahead of her time in terms of style and their advocacy for equality in the art community. All three called California home, and much like the contemporary artists in this show, often chose the Golden State as the subject for their scenic landscapes.
Ellen Howard, Majestic View, Pt. Lobos, oil on panel, 12 x 16"
In fact, what makes this show so special are the parallels between the historic and contemporary works. In Cannon’s painting California Landscape, Carmel and present-day artist Jacalyn Beam’s piece Color Cove, Carmel River Beach, the aesthetic and color palette are so similar it blurs the lines of time. Beam says, “The colors match exactly. The teal is the exact teal. The orange is the exact orange. There are 125 shades of orange, but no, those two oranges match—100 years apart.”
Mary DeNeale Morgan (1868-1948), Blue Bay, Pt. Lobos, oil on canvas, 14 x 18"
Ellen Howard’s painting Majestic Vista, Point Lobos echoes Morgan’s painting Blue Bay, Pt. Lobos. Howard explains, “Majestic Vista is one of my cherished views in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. I observed this scene in January while hiking along this trail just after a storm. The clouds were lifting and a ray of light broke through, illuminating the ocean and revealing its beautiful turquoise color. The historical artist, Mary DeNeale Morgan’s painting, Blue Bay, was painted in the same location. Her work focused on the majestic cypress tree while I focused on the clouds breaking apart, casting light on the ocean, and highlighting the gorgeous turquoise color of the sea.”
Jacalyn Beam, Morning Mist, Monterey Wharf, oil on panel, 11 x 14"
Sarah Lamb is another contemporary artist whose work has classical elements. “I look back at a lot of 19th-century paintings for inspiration,” says Lamb. Her intimate piece Sadie’s Peonies can be likened to White’s painting Pink Roses. Influenced by artists like John Singer Sargent, Lamb likes her paintings to look timeless but with a modern twist.
Ladies of Light opens September 5 and runs through October 7 with an artist reception on September 7 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Other featured artists Cathey Cadieux, Coraly Hanson, Laurie Kersey and Kim Lordier. —
Carmel Fine Art Gallery Dolores Street 2NW of 6th Avenue • Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921 • (831) 624-8010 • www.carmelfineart.com
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