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Julian Greenwell Biography

"Summer Garden" was chosen by a selected jury which included William H. Clapp, Armin Hansen and William Wendt  to be exhibited in The First Pan-American Exhibition of Paintings showcasing a large group of the foremost living artists of North, South and Central America. This exhibition was assembled by the Los Angeles Museum as a fitting and opportune way to celebrate the opening of the first unit of the new Museum  whose purpose would be for the gathering, conservation and exhibition of the treasures of history, science and art of the Americas.


Born in Kona, Hawaii on Sept. 3, 1880, the son of a wealthy cattle rancher.

Greenwell spent most of his life in Monterey, California. A successful businessman, in his leisure he studied painting with his close friend Armin Hansen. The two artists bought lots on El Dorado Street and built adjoining mansions. Greenwell never married and rarely bothered to sell his paintings.

After his death on April 20, 1960, many of his works were lost when his studio was both vandalized and flooded. Few examples of his work are extant; one is known to have hung for years in the old Sarah Hotel.

Member: Carmel Art Association

Exhibited: San Francisco Art Association, 1924; Painters & Sculptors of LA, 1925; First Pan American Exhibition of Oil Paintings assembled by Los Angeles Museum/November 27, 1925 to January 31, 1926; Gump's, 1930; Carmel Art Association, 1930s.

In: Monterey Museum of Art


Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"; California Arts and Architecture list, 1932.