California artist E. Charlton Fortune (1885?1969) came of age in the early twentieth century during the advent of the New Woman?a time when women pushed the boundaries of what was expected of them and challenged the status quo. Fortune, unmarried and of independent spirit, often rode her bicycle carrying her painting supplies to paint in plein air. The resulting landscapes were not delicate, soft, or femi-nine but bold and vigorous and were often thought to have been painted by a man. Known as an Impressionist and even Post-Impressionist, Fortune frequently painted the Monterey Peninsula and the people who lived there. She also spent a good deal of time abroad, both as a child at her family?s home in Scotland and while traveling in Europe as an artist and settling for extended periods in St. Ives, England, and Saint-Tropez, France. In 1931, Fortune announced that she was giving up landscape painting to devote herself entirely to ecclesiastical design. As a lifelong Roman Catholic and founder of the Monterey Guild, she directed the guild members? considerable skills to the creation of art and furnishings for Catholic churches. Following her exacting standards and her studious interpretation of liturgical correctness, their work transformed more than seventy churches. E. Charlton Fortune: The Colorful Spirit presents more than 150 reproductions and photographs of Fortune?s paintings and church furnishings, as well as photographs and a detailed chronology outlining her unconventional life. An essay by Julianne Burton-Carvajal examines Fortune?s work as a liturgical designer.
