In
Galen Wolf: A Brush with History, the East Gallery honors
the work and life of Galen Wolf (1889–1976), a gentle and talented
man whose contributions to our cultural heritage are unique. Wolf
was a writer and storyteller as well as a painter. He was a friend
of John Muir and Jack London, and a true champion of the coastal
lands.
Galen Wolf: A
Brush with History features selections from three mid-career
series of his paintings. The first series presents California missions
that Wolf painted in the mid-1930s. The second major series in Wolf’s
art career centered on scenes from San Mateo County created while
Wolf was employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during
the Great Depression. These paintings show the county’s changing
landscape and way of life, including pieces on Filoli and other
Peninsula estates as well as life on the rural coast. In the third
series, which Wolf considered his best work, we see his beautiful
and innovative “mosaic” style. This series includes illustrations
for his book Legends of the Coastland, edited by Shannon
Nottestad and published in 2012 by Luna Moon Press. Ms. Nottestad
devoted 10 years to the painstaking research needed to put together
this beautiful book, including working with the artist’s 1976 oral
history and his many collected materials. Her work shines a light
on the linkages between our coastside legends and folk tales, our
oral and written histories, and the role and creative contribution
of real-life hero-artist Galen Wolf.
| Shannon
Nottestad, Galen Wolf biographer and curator of the exhibit,
will give a Curator’s Talk on Friday, February 28, at 7 pm.
This free event is part of LitWave, Pacifica’s literary festival,
and will include
a reading from Wolf’s Legends of the
Coastland and a book signing. |
After the February 21 opening night, the galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm, through the exhibit’s closing day, March 30. Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd., Pacifica, California, about 1.5 miles east of Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean.
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