Marshall Merritt
Encyclopedia
Marshall Everett Merritt (August 1904 – July 1978) was an American artist. An impressionist painter
, he specialized in seascape
s, particularly oil depictions of the California
coast. He also painted many landscape
s, portrait
s and still life
s.
He was a member of the Artist's Guild of America and the Los Gatos Art Association. He served as vice president of the latter for several years during the mid to late 1950s.
For many years, Marshall Merritt maintained a studio in Willits, California
. While in Willits, he would spend as much as four months each year on the Monterey Peninsula
painting landscapes and seascapes. In the 1950s he moved his studio to Los Gatos, California
where he lived with his third wife Caroline.
During his career he exhibited at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Mendocino County
Fair, and various galleries on the Monterey Peninsula and in northern California. In 1955 he presented his works at a solo exhibition at the Artist's Guild of America in Carmel. His works are in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.
He was an accomplished craftsman in other media; for instance, he carved wooden frames for many of his paintings.
Marshall Merritt had two daughters, Virginia and Shirley. He died while on vacation in the north central U.S. in July 1978. He was a resident of Los Gatos, California at the time of his death.
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, he specialized in seascape
Seascape
A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. By a backwards development, the word has also come to mean the view of the sea itself, and be applied in planning contexts to geographical locations possessing a good view of...
s, particularly oil depictions of the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast. He also painted many landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
s, portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s and still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s.
He was a member of the Artist's Guild of America and the Los Gatos Art Association. He served as vice president of the latter for several years during the mid to late 1950s.
For many years, Marshall Merritt maintained a studio in Willits, California
Willits, California
Willits is a city in Mendocino County, California, United States. Willits is located north-northwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 1391 feet . The population was 4,888 at the 2010 census, down from 5,073 at the 2000 census. Willits is at the center of Mendocino County and its redwood forests...
. While in Willits, he would spend as much as four months each year on the Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
painting landscapes and seascapes. In the 1950s he moved his studio to Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos, California
The Town of Los Gatos is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 29,413 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains...
where he lived with his third wife Caroline.
During his career he exhibited at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Mendocino County
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County is a county located on the north coast of the U.S. state of California, north of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and west of the Central Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 87,841, up from 86,265 at the 2000 census...
Fair, and various galleries on the Monterey Peninsula and in northern California. In 1955 he presented his works at a solo exhibition at the Artist's Guild of America in Carmel. His works are in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.
He was an accomplished craftsman in other media; for instance, he carved wooden frames for many of his paintings.
Marshall Merritt had two daughters, Virginia and Shirley. He died while on vacation in the north central U.S. in July 1978. He was a resident of Los Gatos, California at the time of his death.