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Montage Resort, Laguna Beach
Reflecting the Community's Arts and Crafts heritage
The resort's Arts and Crafts-style architecture, Craftsman furnishings, period photographs and impressive collection of plein-air art reflect the community's artistic history.
The artworks located throughout the Montage Resort and Spa capture the eclectic artistic development in California during the first part of the 20th century.
Laguna Beach, a postcard-perfect coastal community, is located about 65 miles south of Los Angeles, and the community has been an idyllic artists' colony for about a century.
The 7-mile coastline, steep hillsides and sandy shores attracted plein air artists who painted impressionist-style beach scenes and dramatic light filled landscapes throughout the early 20th century.
Three significant oil paintings in the lobby highlight the collection: Laguna Coastline, c. 1912, by William Wendt, who built his studio in Laguna Beach in 1912 and is considered California's premier impressionist; Jean Mannheim's Laguna Sea, c. 1920, which hangs behind the registration desk; and Pacific Tide, Laguna, by Edgar Payne who was one of the founders of Laguna Beach School of Arts.
More early California art, supplied by Laguna Beach-based Red-fern Gallery, is located throughout the hotel. William Morris, the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, is represented with rare works on paper.
