Euphemia Charlton Fortune, known by friends and family as “Effie,” is one of the artists most highly prized by collectors of the early California era. Fortune studied and began her career in a time when the field of art was completely dominated by men, yet she never let that fact deter her from pursuing her career and was respected and embraced by her male peers. She chose to sign her work as E. Charlton Fortune, which didn’t immediately identify her sex, and in some early reviews the critics mistakenly believed her paintings to be the work of a man. She was even awarded a silver medal by the prestigious Société des Artistes Français Salon that was attributed to “Monsieur Fortune.” And after she was known to be a woman, her work was often praised for its bold, masculine style not considered typical of female artists at that time.
Fortune was a longtime resident of the Monterey Peninsula and though she traveled extensively and lived in many other locales throughout her life, the draw of the beauty and customs of the historic town of Monterey, her family and her lasting friendships and associations with fellow artists and preservationists, proved too strong for her to stay away for long. She was diligent in all her pursuits, and through her art and her interest in historic preservation, Fortune left an impressive mark on the Monterey Peninsula that can still be seen today.
Fortune was born in Sausalito, California, in 1885, to a Scottish father and an American mother. She inherited a cleft palate from her father—and it was said that she never married and chose not to have children in order to avoid passing on the trait. Fortune’s father died of pulmonary disease when she was nine, leaving her mother alone to care for Fortune and her younger brother James. Fortune’s aunt took her to Scotland at the age of 12, where she was enrolled in a convent school in Edinburgh. After graduating she went on to study art in London for a year, though according to her autobiography, art did not come easily to her, “Mine was a ‘late vocation’…it was a nagging and difficult time and the courses were antipathetic to me, however, I learned about self discipline…” But with her education financed by a wealthy uncle who saw promise in her and encouraged her to continue, she persisted. While in the U.K., her uncle paid for her to have an artificial palate made, which improved her appearance and speech. No surgeries to correct the deformity were available at the time.
Fortune returned to San Francisco in 1905 and enrolled at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco, studying under Arthur Mathews, renowned artist and father of the California Arts and Crafts movement. When the earthquake of 1906 struck, Fortune’s family home was dynamited in an attempt to stop the fires caused by the quake. Like other artist refugees fleeing San Francisco, Fortune and her mother went to Carmel and lived in a tent across from the Pine Inn for many weeks. With no home to return to, her family relocated to New York with the purpose of allowing Fortune to continue her studies at the Art Student’s League (ASL). She garnered many awards during her studies at ASL, alongside another promising female student, Georgia O’Keefe, while studying under painter F. Luis Mora, who has been called “America’s First Hispanic Master.” He was a champion of Fortune’s and was also the brother of prolific Carmel artist Jo Mora. Years later, F. Luis Mora along with William Ritschel nominated Fortune to the National Academy of Design.
After completing her studies in New York, Fortune gained her first large commission. She was hired to create a mural for the convent school she had attended in Edinburgh, taking her back to the U.K. While in Edinburgh, her uncle died, leaving Fortune devastated, and her work on the mural was never completed. Upon his death, Fortune’s uncle left her a sizable inheritance, allowing her to stay in Europe and giving her the freedom to travel. She traveled and exhibited throughout Scotland and England and found inspiration in the work of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Her first large-scale exhibition was held at the Royal Academy in Edinburgh in 1911. Fortune eventually landed in Paris in early 1912 and was drawn to the bold work of the French Impressionists.
Returning to the U.S., Fortune spent the summer of 1912 on the Monterey Peninsula painting, while staying in a rented house in Pacific Grove with her mother. She exhibited her paintings of the peninsula in San Francisco at her Sutter Street studio, along with works from her recent travels. In Monterey she became known for her paintings of modern life, featuring the town, the wharf and people, and was “interested in humanity’s impact on the land,” as explained in Scott Shields’ definitive book, “E. Charlton Fortune, The Colorful Spirit.” Critics proclaimed that no female artist in California had a brighter future than she. Over the next few years, she continued to spend time both on the peninsula and in San Francisco, where she won a silver medal at the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. That same year, she donated paintings to a sale benefiting the restoration of the Carmel Mission and was an active member of the Carmel Mission restoration committee.
Fortune left California for Europe in 1921 and traveled extensively, spending time in Italy, St. Ives in Cornwall and St. Tropez in France. She painted many of her most well-known paintings during the six years she spent traveling the continent. She returned to Monterey in 1927 and settled at 1006 Roosevelt Street (which has since been demolished) and became involved in many groups and causes as an important member of both the Monterey and Carmel art colonies. She joined the newly formed Carmel Art Association in 1927 and served on the board for many years as well as serving as vice president from 1936-1939. She was also one of the founding members of the Monterey History and Art Association (MHA) in 1931, and was one of the first members of the board of directors. Fortune was also the chair of the art committee and among her fellow committee members were William Ritschel and Armin Hansen, two highly-respected and celebrated California artists.
Fortune and her fellow MHA members were very concerned with preserving the character of Monterey and, through her involvement, Fortune was active in saving several important Monterey buildings, including the First Theater, the Fremont Adobe, Casa Serrano, and the first French Consulate, in which she played a major part. In 1934, as a member of a three-person MHA committee in cooperation with the State Parks, Fortune was responsible for the relocation of the consulate, saving the building from destruction. Originally located on Fremont Street and Abrego, the building was disassembled brick by brick and reconstructed at its current location on Lake El Estero. She also served with Armin Hansen and Myron Oliver as artist supervisors for the State Park Commission’s Custom House restoration.
In 1936, during the Great Depression, the WPA wrote to Fortune asking her to accept an appointment to “a local committee [of the Federal Art Project] composed of persons of recognized authority in the field of art,” and she accepted. The committee would be important to the cultural life of the Mon-terey Peninsula community, responsible for helping “needy artists” and im-proving public buildings. The City of Monterey then appointed Fortune, along with Armin Hansen and Myron Oliver, to oversee improvements on Colton Hall, which included painting and redecorating the historic building. Fortune also teamed up with Oliver, for a competition to design the park at Colton Hall, Friendly Plaza. The Fortune-Oliver team won, and the design of Friendly Plaza—a beautiful public garden with brick pathways, stone walls and a fountain—still retains Fortune’s touch. Another major contribution to Monterey made by Fortune and MHA is the Path of History, which they created in 1938, and is still widely used today.
In the 1930s, Fortune turned from painting to liturgical work. After having success with her designs for St. Angela’s Catholic Church in Pacific Grove (located at 325 Central Avenue), she and architect C.J. Ryland formed a liturgical design firm, which evolved into the Monterey Guild—a group of artists and artisans who worked to produce Fortune’s liturgical de-signs, from vestments to altars and everything in between. The guild was the first in the nation dedicated to the revival of liturgical art and it was Fortune’s effort to revive the system of the medieval guilds. Among the first members of the guild were Myron Oliver and August Gay. The Monterey Guild’s liturgical work can be found in over 70 cathedrals and churches around the nation and internationally, and can be found locally at the Carmel Mission, St. Angela’s Church and at Mission San Juan Bautista, as well as in many churches throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The most treasured honor of Fortune’s career came in 1955, when Pope Pius XII bestowed upon her the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal for a 16 by 25 foot mosaic she created for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri.
Fortune traveled extensively for liturgical work, relocating the Monterey Guild to Kansas City, Missouri, and to Portsmouth Priory in Rhode Island, where she stayed until she retired in 1958. She traveled to Europe for two years, returning to San Francisco in 1960. She kept a room at the Women’s City Club on Post Street until returning permanently to the peninsula in 1964 and settling into an apartment at Carmel Valley Manor. In her early days there, some well-meaning neighbors approached Fortune, stating that they knew her to be “interested in art” and asking if she would join them in taking a painting lesson offered at the Manor. She chose to disappear that day, instead planting flowers.
Fortune died of a stroke at the age of 84 in 1969. Her funeral, held at the Carmel Mission Basilica, was one of great honor. She was so highly regarded in the Catholic church that her service was presided over by both an archbishop and a monsignor. She is buried at the San Carlos Cemetery in Monterey with a modest marker that gives no indication of her incredible career, likely dictated by her piety as a devout Catholic. Fortune’s niece and nephew, along with two more generations of the Fortune family continue to reside on the peninsula, kindly sharing Fortune’s artifacts, their memories, knowledge and family history, helping to continue the legacy of one of California’s greatest early artists.