upcoming

Remembering Juanita Larson

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Remembering Juanita Larson is currently on view in the Dr. Richard & Elizabeth Anderson Gallery at the Morris Graves Museum of Art.  This tribute exhibitionfocuses on the career of the local artist and the things that inspired her artwork. Larson said of her work,” My art leans toward symbolism and surrealism though many times I sketch or paint a simple still life or figure study just so I don’t have to do too much thinking. People often ask me what kind of art I do. Personal symbolism seems to describe it best of all. What I see does not influence my art as much as what I feel; it comes from a place inside body and mind. To get it from mind, to hand, to paper is the tricky part. I don’t always succeed. I also love the subtle grace and the perfect balance of the human figure. If there is not a classification for Personal Symbolism in the art world, perhaps there should be.”

Juanita Larson was born on a Sunday morning April 9, 1933 in Ackerman, Miss., to Luther and Pearl Spurgeon, the youngest of three daughters. She passed away at home on May 3, 2008. Her life began on a farm in rural Mississippi, surrounded by a large loving family. After WWII started, like many others in the south, they moved west where her father found work in the Richmond shipyards. He later moved the family north to Klamath to work in the timber industry.

After graduating from Del Norte High School in 1951, she worked for Simpson Timber Co. just long enough to earn the money for a train ticket to New York City. Juanita worked for an advertising firm in the Empire State Building. She eventually married her high school sweetheart and moved back to Klamath. She became his wife and business partner. They owned and operated Requa Boat Dock and Klamath Jet Boat Kruises for nearly 30 years, raising a family of four. An unexpected death took her husband in 1981.

She eventually moved his duck-hunting trailer to Trinidad and enrolled in HSU completing three years of art study. Art had been her passion all her life. She used all mediums, but upon discovering watercolor, threw her oils. Much of her work is of women, children and reflections of her own childhood. She exhibited widely in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Her work is in private, public and permanent collections at College of the Redwoods and HSU. She judged art shows and especially enjoyed the children’s exhibits.

Juanita Larson was a fierce defender of the rights of women and children, and the proceeds from the sale of her paintings will be donated to Humboldt Domestic Violence Service. This exhibition is sponsored by Eureka Art & Frame Company

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