Monterey exhibit showcases rare art by underrepresented artists

NEW AT SUNRISE.... AN EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTING RARE CALIFORNIA ART IS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW.. THE MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART IS SHOWCASING ARTISTS..WHO DURING THEIR TIME... DIDN'T RECEIVE PROPER RECOGNITION FOR THEIR WORK. INSIDE THE MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART --- YOU WILL FIND WORKS OF ART -- THAT áPAINT THE PICTUREá OF CALIFORNIA AND THE CENTRAL COAST'S RARE BEAUTY.. JOHN REXINE, COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS DIRECTOR "PEOPLE OFTEN THINK OF THE PENINSULA MOSTLY IN TERMS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. AND THE ARTISTS HERE WERE ALSO DRAWN BY THE SAME THING." THE EXHIBIT SHOWCASING WORK FROM PRE-1945.. BOTH WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS.. BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY WOMEN ARTISTS AND ARTIST OF COLOR... WHO DURING THEIR TIME DID NOT RECEIVE A LOT RECOGNITION. JOHN REXINE, COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS DIRECTOR "PRIMARILY WITH THIS EXHIBITION, WE TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT UNDERREPRESENTED ARTISTS OR PEOPLE WHO WERE WORKING IN WAYS THAT MAYBE WERE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE WERE ACCUSTOMED TO." JOHN REXINE (REX- SEEN) WITH THE MUSEUM SAYS IT IS IMPORTANT TO FEATURE UNDER- REPRESENTED ARTISTS TO GIVE A MORE ACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF HISTORY.. JOHN REXINE, COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS DIRECTOR "IT'S REALLY HISTORY. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE HISTORY OF OUR AREA. IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT TRADITION ALIVE." REXINE (REX-SEEN) SAYS THE STORY BEHIND THE ART IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS THE PAINTINGS THEMSELVES. JOHN REXINE, COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS DIRECTOR "LIKE MAXINE ALBRO, WHO STUDIED UNDER DIEGO RIVERA. JUDITH DEIM, WHO CAME HERE DURING THE DUST BOWL ERA WITH ANOTHER ARTIST, ELLWOOD GRAHAM, AND BECAME PART OF THE STEINBECK CIRCLE OF ARTISTS AND CREATIVE TYPES. AND WE DON'T SEE A LOT OF THEM," SAID REXINE. OTHER ARTISTS FEATURED AT EXHIBIT áALSOá HAD CONNECTIONS TO STEINBECK...áPEGGY WORTHINGTONá DID THE ILLUSTRATION FOR TORTILLA FLAT...AND WILLIAM LEONARD COOPER..AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PAINTER FROM SALINAS..WAS MENTIONED IN TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY. JOHN REXINE, COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS DIRECTOR "HE WAS NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS WITH STEINBECK AND WAS A VERY IMPORTANT WATER COLORIST IN THE AREA, BUT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF SUCCESS OUTSIDE OF THE AREA, NOT A LOT OF HIS WORK HAS SURVIVED. SO, I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO FIND SOME OF THIS WORK." AND WHILE THE FOCUS ON THE EXHIBIT IS ON LESS RECOGNIZED ARTISTS.. THERE ARE PLENTY OF POPULAR ONES ... THOUGH... SOME OF THE PAINTINGS HAVEN'T' BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC IN DECADES..LIKE THIS ONE BY áARMIN HANSENá (00;20;03 - 21) DUDLEY "WHILE THIS IS A WELL- KNOWN ARTIST HERE.. THIS PAINTING HAS NOT BEEN SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME..RIGHT? JOHN REXINE "YES. IT WAS DISCOVERED IN EUROPE.. NOT LONG AGO..IN A COLLECTION..NOT SURE HOW IT GOT ALL THE WAY OVER THERE..BUT PROBABLY HAS BEEN HERE SINCE IT WAS FIRST PAINTED IN THE 30S..." UNIQUE WORKS ART ...ON DISPLAY.. FOR ALL TO SEE AND CELEBRATE. THE MUSEUM WORKED WITH DOZENS OF LOCAL COLLECTORS TO FIND THESE PAINTINGS... THE EXHIBIT IS OPEN NOW UNTIL THE END OF APRIL.. TICKETS ARE FREE FOR KIDS...AND TEENS 18 YEARS

An exhibit highlighting rare California art is underway. The Monterey Museum of Art is showcasing pre-1945 art by artists who during their time did not receive proper recognition for their work.“Primarily with this exhibition, we tried to highlight underrepresented artists or people who were working in ways that maybe were different from what we were accustomed to,” said John Rexine, collections and exhibitions director for the museum. Rexine said it is important to feature underrepresented artists to give a more accurate portrayal of history. “It's really important for the history of California,” Rexine said. “It's important for the history of our area. It's important to keep that tradition alive.”Rexine said the story behind the artists is almost as important as the paintings themselves. “Like Maxine Albro, who studied under Diego Rivera. Judith Deim, who came here during the dust bowl era with another artist, Ellwood Graham, and became part of the Steinbeck circle of artists and creative types. And we don't see a lot of them,” he said. Other artists featured at the exhibit also had connections to Steinbeck. Peggy Worthington did the illustration for “Tortilla Flat” and William Leonard Cooper, an African-American painter from Salinas, was mentioned in “Travels With Charley.” “He was neighbors and friends with Steinbeck and was a very important watercolorist in the area but because he didn't have that kind of success outside of the area, not a lot of his work has survived. So, I was very fortunate to be able to find some of this work,” Rexine said. While the focus of the exhibit is on less recognized artists, there are plenty of popular ones to see, though some of the paintings haven't been seen in public in decades like one by Armin Hansen, one of the most famous artists living in Monterey.“It was discovered in Europe, not long ago, in a collection. Not sure how it got all the way over there but probably has been there since it was first painted in the '30s,” Rexine said. The museum worked with dozens of local collectors to find these paintings. The exhibit is open through the end of April. Tickets are free for kids and teens 18 years and under, students with ID, active military with ID and SNAP participants with EBT. General admission tickets are $15.

MONTEREY, Calif. —

An exhibit highlighting rare California art is underway. The Monterey Museum of Art is showcasing pre-1945 art by artists who during their time did not receive proper recognition for their work.

“Primarily with this exhibition, we tried to highlight underrepresented artists or people who were working in ways that maybe were different from what we were accustomed to,” said John Rexine, collections and exhibitions director for the museum.

Rexine said it is important to feature underrepresented artists to give a more accurate portrayal of history.

“It's really important for the history of California,” Rexine said. “It's important for the history of our area. It's important to keep that tradition alive.”

Rexine said the story behind the artists is almost as important as the paintings themselves.

“Like Maxine Albro, who studied under Diego Rivera. Judith Deim, who came here during the dust bowl era with another artist, Ellwood Graham, and became part of the Steinbeck circle of artists and creative types. And we don't see a lot of them,” he said.

Other artists featured at the exhibit also had connections to Steinbeck. Peggy Worthington did the illustration for “Tortilla Flat” and William Leonard Cooper, an African-American painter from Salinas, was mentioned in “Travels With Charley.”

“He was neighbors and friends with Steinbeck and was a very important watercolorist in the area but because he didn't have that kind of success outside of the area, not a lot of his work has survived. So, I was very fortunate to be able to find some of this work,” Rexine said.

While the focus of the exhibit is on less recognized artists, there are plenty of popular ones to see, though some of the paintings haven't been seen in public in decades like one by Armin Hansen, one of the most famous artists living in Monterey.

“It was discovered in Europe, not long ago, in a collection. Not sure how it got all the way over there but probably has been there since it was first painted in the '30s,” Rexine said.

The museum worked with dozens of local collectors to find these paintings. The exhibit is open through the end of April. Tickets are free for kids and teens 18 years and under, students with ID, active military with ID and SNAP participants with EBT. General admission tickets are $15.

Monterey exhibit showcases rare art by underrepresented artists

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