Sam B. Colburn

Sam B. Colburn was a Depression-era artist who worked and lived in Carmel. As a painter, he was a regionalist, but he used modern, experimental techniques while making his landscapes. Close friends with Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, John Steinbeck and Robinson Jeffers, he was one of the co-signers of the 1945 Monterey Petition: A Democratic Way of Life for All, which advocated for the safe return of Japanese Americans to their homes after World War II. The above painting is part of the Celebrating California Art: Artistic Alliance in Monterey, 1942–1946 exhibition on display until April 26 at the Monterey Museum of Art. The show is focused on artists from the Monterey Peninsula who witnessed the injustice of their fellow citizens being forcibly removed and imprisoned. 559 Pacific St., Monterey. 11am-5pm Thursday to Sunday.