Monterey became the epicenter of Northern California art after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. Artists from the city came to the peninsula in a wave that ultimately helped the economy and continued to refine the area’s reputations as a viable artist colony.
The Hotel Del Monte opened the area’s first commercial gallery in April 1907. And the colony’s landscapists gained widespread acclaim at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
The adventurous spirit of the Monterey Peninsula’s art scene remains as vibrant as ever with more than a hundred art galleries exhibiting everything from early and contemporary Impressionist works as well as a variety of other styles by mostly U.S. and European artists.
