In the late 19th Century, some of California's greatest artists lived in Monterey. Their work is among the most important in the cultural history of the West Coast.

Yet much of it, including some of the finest examples of the period, has been hidden away for decades - until now.

This fall will see the debut of Art in the Adobes, an important new cultural festival that will bring Monterey's hidden artistic heritage back into the light. Many of the venues will be historic adobes, including the former home of Robert Louis Stevenson. The theme for the inaugural event is "Hidden Treasures from Old Monterey".

One of the most beautiful of those hidden treasures has been chosen as this year's iconic image: "Kitty, Sonoma", by renowned painter Charles Rollo Peters, who lived and painted in Monterey from 1894 to 1909. (Painting made available courtesy of the City of Monterey.)

As Scott Shields, curator of Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum has written, "Between 1875 and 1907, the Monterey Peninsula epitomized California art."

"Among those who lived or worked frequently on the Monterey Peninsula, Jules Tavernier, William Keith, Arthur Mathews, and the photographer Arnold Genthe now rank among the major figures in California's, and America's, art history," wrote Shields in an American Art Review article based on his book Artists at Continent's End: The Monterey Peninsula Art Colony 1875-1907. "Others, such as Charles Rollo Peters, Francis McComas, and Gottardo Piazzoni, were important figures in their day; their once-illustrious reputations -- on a national and even international level -- make them deserving of renewed recognition."

The curator of the first Art in the Adobes is Julianne Burton-Carvajal, professor emeritus of Latin-American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz and an expert on California art history.

The festival will run the weekend of September 30 - October 2, 2011. In addition to the Stevenson House and other historic adobes, locations will include the Monterey Museum of Art and Colton Hall, where California's Constitution was signed in 1849. The event will also feature lectures by Professor Burton-Carvajal and other experts, live period music and an opening night reception.

A Summer Celebration, featuring previews of the art, will take place August 4 at the Monterey Marriott Hotel. 

Art in the Adobes is organized by the City of Monterey, California State Parks, the Monterey Museum of Art and the Monterey History & Art Association.

Details

Event: Art in the Adobes: Hidden Treasures from Old Monterey

Dates: September 30 - Oct 2, 2011

Locations: Casa Serrano, Colton Hall, Cooper-Molera Adobe, Few Memorial Hall, Larkin House, Monterey Museum of Art, Stevenson House

Tickets:

All Access Pass: $75 per person

One Day General Admission: (Sat - Sun): $25* / 30 per person

Sunday Family Day: $35

Sunday Student / Military Discount: $10 per person

* Ticket discount applied if purchased no later than Sept 15, 2011.

Tickets will be on sale at artintheadobes.org by June 1, 2011.