Chromolithograph after a design by Jules Tavernier. 56x70.7 cm (22x27¾"). Matted without mount. Pictured is the hotel with border vignettes of various attractions in and around Monterey.
The Hotel Del Monte was a large resort hotel in Monterey, California, from its opening in 1880 until 1942. Charles Crocker, one of California's Big Four railroad barons, established the resort through Southern Pacific Railroad's property division, Pacific Improvement Company, and opened the first hotel June 3, 1880. The first true resort complex in the United States, it was an immediate success. Nearby, along Monterey Bay, was a railroad depot where the Del Monte (named for the hotel) served patrons arriving by train. The property extended south and southeast of the hotel and included gardens, parkland, polo grounds, a race track, and a golf course. Originally used for hunting and other outdoor activities, the hotel's property became Pebble Beach, an unincorporated resort community, and the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links. The famous 17-Mile Drive was originally designed as a local excursion for visitors to the Del Monte to take in the historic sights of Monterey and Pacific Grove and the scenery of what would become Pebble Beach. The hotel became popular with the wealthy and influential of the day, and guests included Theodore Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway, as well as many early Hollywood stars.
Jules Tavernier was a French painter, illustrator, and an important member of Hawaii’s Volcano School. In 2014 the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California held an exhibition of more than 100 works by Tavernier, the first career retrospective of his work, accompanied by a catalog entitled Jules Tavernier: Artist & Adventurer. After the Crocker, the exhibition moved to the Monterey Museum of Art.
Condition:
Chips and tears in margins, several tears repaired from reverse with tape, some sunning and light soiling; good.