Lot Essay
Born in San Francisco in 1868, Mary DeNeale Morgan was inspired to pursue art at an early age by the painter and close family friend, William Keith, who became Morgan's first teacher and encouraged the young student to attend the California School of Design. Morgan first visited Carmel in 1903 and finally settled in the small artists' community in 1910 where she would remain for the rest of her life, working directly from nature in oil, gouache, and pastel to capture the distinctive light and color of the northern California coastal town.