Summer 2026

Carmel not only provided an escape and stunning scenery, but the opportunity to build an egalitarian art colony from scratch, one shaped by the mistakes of the past. This is pre- cisely what Morgan did—with clear vision of purpose and immense determination—when she moved permanently to Carmel at the age of 42 in 1910. When the vast majority of female painters depended heavily on family support, she maintained her independence solely from the sale of her art. She reorganized and expand- ed the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club into a des- tination where all of the regional artists, and many from the Bay Area, sought to exhibit. Her formal art classes at that club grew in popularity, with attendees coming from several Western states. Through her managerial skills and volun- teer work she helped to guide the art commu- nity in Carmel from its humble beginnings to a position as the largest and most important art colony on the Pacific Coast. Morgan’s own artistic career changed funda- mentally with her attendance at the 1914William Merritt Chase Summer School of Art in Carmel. Chase persuaded her to adopt a brighter palette, to find unconventional subjects, and to paint emo- tionally with “impasto” using not only a brush, but a knife. As this transition gained momentum, her subject matter became more diverse and her palette, in some instances, bordered on the flam- boyant. Morgan’s fussiness was replaced with pro- nounced displays of light, the use of unmixed col- ors and the elimination of unnecessary detail. When her art was exhibited at distant venues, it was assumed that Morgan, who signed her first name with the initial “M” was a man. From the mid-1920s to the late 1930s no female artist in Northern California exhibited more paintings (Above) “Sparkling Sea,” a 23.5 x 23.5 inch oil, was painted in 1923-24 and is from the collection of Pamela Wagner. (Below) “El Tiro,” a 20 x 24 inch oil, was painted in 1937-38 and is from the col- lection of the Monterey Museum of Art on loan from the Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration, WPA, Federal Art Project, 1935-1943. Courtesy of Pamela Wagner Collection 168 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 6 Courtesy of Monterey Museum of Art; Loan from the Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services