Laguna Beach, CA – The Laguna Art Museum will put the beauty of California’s Central Coast on display through October 1, 2006, in Artists at Continent’s End: The Monterey Peninsula Art Colony, 1875-1907.  This exhibition, organized by the Crocker Art Museum, is the first to present an in-depth examination of Monterey Peninsula painting and photography from this critical period in California’s art history.  Featuring work by some of the most widely recognized early artists in California, including Jules Tavernier, Arthur Mathews and William Keith, among others, this show examines the three major styles associated with the colony: French Barbizon, Tonalism, and Impressionism.

Few regions rival the magnificence of California’s Monterey Peninsula. In the late 19^th century, the beauty of the landscape, together with a mild climate, rich history, and simplicity of lifestyle, attracted artists of all disciplines and encouraged the development of one of the nation’s foremost art colonies.

Whereas previous accounts date the establishment of the Monterey Peninsula colony just after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, this groundbreaking show reveals that the Monterey Peninsula was a gathering place for artists well before 1906.  These kindred spirits shared their ideals and respective arts as they crafted a defining style of California art.

Major support for the exhibition at Laguna Art Museum comes from Nancy D. W. Moure, Laguna Art Museum Historical Art Council, and Dr. Edward & Yvonne Boseker.  Additional support comes from Thom Gianetto, Don Merrill, and Dan Nicodemo, Edenhurst Gallery (Los Angeles and Palm Desert), the Beall Family Foundation, Ueberroth Family Foundation, Terry and Paula Trotter, Trotter Galleries (Carmel), George & Irene Stern, George Stern Fine Arts (Los Angeles), Bente & Gerald Buck, The Redfern Gallery (Laguna Beach), and Hal and Andrea Burroughs.

Crocker Art Museum Chief Curator Scott A. Shields holds a M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from the University of Kansas. He has 12 years of professional experience in museums in the Midwest and San Francisco Bay Area and has curated numerous exhibitions and written articles for various scholarly journals.

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