Monterey Beach

Fortune Euphemia Charlton, born on January 15, 1885, was an American Impressionist from California. Trained in Europe and New York, she excelled in portraits and landscapes. In midlife, she shifted to liturgical design, signing her works as “E. Charlton Fortune” to conceal her gender.

Born in Sausalito, California, to a Scottish father and San Francisco native mother, she was known as Effie. Privileged with wealth, she traveled extensively. After her father’s death, she resolved never to marry due to a shared cleft palate trait.

Returning to San Francisco in 1905, she studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art and later in New York at the Art Students League. Her 1910 travels included Scotland, England, and France, leading to prestigious exhibitions.

Summers in Monterey from 1913 to 1920, teaching art and organizing workshops, marked this period. Further travels in Europe from 1921 to 1927 resulted in residences in Cornwall and acclaim for her paintings.

Back in California in 1927, she settled in Monterey, joining the Carmel Art Association. Despite mixed reviews for her 1927 San Francisco exhibition, her European paintings received praise elsewhere.

In her later years, Fortune embraced liturgical work. She passed away on May 15, 1969, in Carmel, leaving a lasting legacy in esteemed collections such as the Crocker Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Euphemia Charlton Fortune’s diverse and distinctive contributions to the art world endure.