A Survey of Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960

On January 7th of 2019, KCET’s Art and Entertainment section covered the “Emerging” Exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of History

KCET’s Art and Entertainment writer, Meher McArthur, details the artists and works included in the “Something Revealed: California Women Artists Emerge, 1860-1960” exhibition that is running through March of 2019. 

KCET, art, exhibit, women artists, pasadena, california, maurine st guadensIn her article, Meher focuses her discussion on several of the works on exhibit, one of which being a painting by Vera C. M. Staples “Olvera Street, El Pueblo de Los Angeles” painted in 1935. 

In discussing the painting, Meher writes: 

“In the painting of Olvera Street… the symbolism of masculine dominance may have been unintentional, but it is extremely poignant considering the subject of the exhibition. The old cobbled street is shown on a quiet morning. A saleswoman perches uncomfortably on a stool in front of her terra cotta pot ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT stall and gazes over at two men browsing the pots across the way. Behind her, another shopkeeper stands in her doorway beside a display of ceramic vases and jars as a woman in a headscarf strolls along the sidewalk. In front of the seated woman, a small child approaches a dog who appears oblivious to them all as he busily scratches an itch. Above them all in the center of the painting and thrusting into the sky is the tower of the Los Angeles City Hall, a building completed in 1928 – the only clue that dates the oil painting. At the bottom right-hand corner is the artist’s signature “V.C.M. Staples” – a genderless mark that reveals next to nothing about the artist who painted this masterful portrait of the heart of Los Angeles.”

We invite you to view and read the entire article linked to here:

KCET, From the Shadows to the Spotlight: Masterworks by California’s Unknown Women Artists

And here is a link to the article on KCET’s website: KCET Art and Entertainment Shadows Article