This is a watercolor by Pasadena artist Marion Kavanagh Wachtel (1870-1954), “Walpi – On the First Mesa” n.d. (after 1904), 13-3/4″ x 18″. The 2-1/2″ wide flat frame profile is in fumed quarter sawn white oak. I incised a simple line pattern, outset at the corners, and painted it blue and green to harmonize with the painting. Proud splines articulate the corners and subtly repeat the corner pattern on the face. We finished the frame with linseed oil and wax. A 1/8″ slip or fillet finished with bronze wax provides emphasis.
We framed the painting for California Historical Design, and it’s available from them, here.
Marion Kavanagh Wachtel—
Marion Kavanaugh was born into an artistic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 10, 1870. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under John H. Vanderpoel and in New York City with William Merritt Chase. She was popular in Milwaukee as a portrait painter, and for several years taught at the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 1903, she was commissioned by the Santa Fe Railway to paint scenes in their California ticket offices. In San Francisco, her landscapes gained notice, and she became a pupil of William Keith. When Keith learned of her intention to move to southern California, he suggested that she study with Elmer Wachtel. A romance blossomed and she and Wachtel married in 1904. (It was soon after her marriage that she dropped the “u” from her maiden name.)
One biography says that “In deference to her husband, she painted exclusively in watercolors, ” while another states that Elmer worked in oils “and Marion in watercolors to avoid competition between each other,” implying a bit more equity in the decision. In any case, Marion established a strong reputation in watercolor on both coasts. In 1921, she helped found the California Water Color Society.
The couple’s home was in an art community near the Arroyo in Pasadena, a favorite location for landscape painters of that era. There were beautiful oak, sycamore, and eucalyptus trees lining the valley, and a clear view of the Sierra Madre Mountains. These local scenes became the subjects for many of her watercolors. The Wachtels enjoyed extended painting trips to remote areas of California and the Southwest. Often camping, 
they explored areas near the coast and inland valleys, seeking out California’s beautiful landscape and unique natural light.
After Elmer’s death in 1929, Marion continued to live in the Arroyo Seco home, but was inactive as an artist for a few years. By the early 1930s, though, she was painting and exhibiting again—and had returned to oils.
She died at her home in Pasadena on May 22, 1954.
(Adapted from AskArt.)
—Tim Holton
Walpi Village—
The website of the World Monuments Fund describes the village:
Perched on a narrow finger of First Mesa in the heart of the Hopi Nation in northwest Arizona, Walpi is the mother village of 11 surrounding Hopi settlements. Originally established in the thirteenth century at the base of the mesa, Walpi was moved to its current location as a defensive measure after the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish in 1680. The village was built using hand-trimmed sandstone and earth. The roofs consist of lestavi (structural beams) and wu’na o’ye (smaller poles resting on the lestavi) capped with layers of brush and clay. The village has retained its historical integrity by avoiding the introduction of running water and electricity, and the walls of its buildings are still hand-plastered by local women. Walpi leads the surrounding First Mesa villages in religious rituals and is also the residence for the Kikmongwi, the village leader. It is a significant Native American site that represents traditional Hopi architecture and identity. Continue reading…
