Wharf, Monterey a recently discovered painting by the Californian artist E. Charlton Fortune (1885-1969) leads Bonhams California and Western Paintings and Sculpture Sale in Los Angeles on Tuesday 11 April.  It is estimated at US$200,000-300,000.

Executed around 1915, Wharf, Monterey is one of a series of paintings centered on Monterey Bay and the wharf area that Fortune produced between 1914-1921. These proved to be her most enduringly popular works. At this experimental stage of her career, the artist was moving between tonalism, with its emphasis on neutral hues such a grey, brown or blue, and the Impressionist style she had absorbed during her years in Europe and New York. Wharf, Monterey reflects both influences and captures the busting nature of the wharf which the City of Monterey had taken into ownership in 1913 as commercial fishing and demand for passenger ferry services boomed.

Born into a wealthy family in Marin County, in 1885, Euphemia Fortune – always referred to as Effie privately or in her professional life as E. Charlton Fortune – moved to her father’s native Scotland at the age of 13, following his death. Her early art training took place in Edinburgh and London and she travelled extensively in Europe before enrolling at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1904. Fortune was to live in Europe again from 1921 – 1927, but on her return she made Monterey her home for the rest of her long life, dedicating herself to religious art.

Bonhams Director of California and Western Paintings and Sculpture, Scot M. Levitt, said, “Wharf, Monterey is a wonderfully spontaneous painting and shows Fortune at the height of her talents.  Art critics at the time were full of praise for her fresh approach and it is easy to understand why her Monterey works have such a strong following among collectors.”

Other sale highlights include:

California Poppies and Oaks by Granville Redmond estimated at US$150,000-250,000. One of California's first resident Impressionist painters, Granville Redmond, is best known for his atmospheric and floral landscapes of California, of which the present work is a wonderful example.

The Higher Altitudes by William Wendt estimated at US$80,000-120,000. This work by the 'Dean of Southern Californian Landscape Painting' as he was known, dates from around 1913 when Wendt spent the summer painting snow-capped views of Mt. Rainier, which he then exhibited nationally.

Steer Roping by Howard Terpning estimated at US$80,000-120,000. Steer Roping is a prime example of the artist's early Western subjects, and highlights his fine draftsmanship and flair for narrative. Terpning is considered by many to be the finest 'modern-day storyteller' of the American West.