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The “Remembering Juanita Larson” exhibit is currently on view in the Dr. Richard and Elizabeth Anderson Gallery at the Morris Graves Museum of Art. This tribute exhibition focuses on the career of the local artist and the things that inspired her work.
Describing her work, Larson said,” 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. 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”
Juanita Larson was born in 1933 in Ackerman, Miss. 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 World War II started, the family moved west, and later, they moved north to Klamath.
After graduating from Del Norte High School in 1951, Larson worked for Simpson Timber Company to earn money for a train ticket to New York City. Once there, she worked for an advertising firm in the Empire State Building. Later, she married her high school sweetheart and returned to Klamath.
The two owned and operated Requa Boat Dock and Klamath Jet Boat Kruises for 30 years, raised a family of four, but in 1981, an unexpected death took her husband.
Larson eventually enrolled in HSU completing three years of art study. Art had been her passion, and she worked in all mediums; but upon discovering watercolor, she threw out her oils. Much of Larson's work is of women, children and reflections of her own childhood. She exhibited widely in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
Juanita Larson was a strong 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
The Morris Graves Museum of Art is at 636 F St., Eureka and is open to the public from noon to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. Museum admission is by donation: $4 for adults, $1 for seniors age 55 and older.
photo by Morris Graves Museam of Art
1. The artist in her studio
2. “Learning to fly,” is one of several art pieces by local artist Juanita Larson, featured in a retrospective of her work at an upcoming Arts Alive! in Eureka at the Morris Graves Museum of Art on Feb. 6.
