Life theArts ‘Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community’

New exhibit has acclaimed artist’s early works on view for first time at Historical Museum

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Portraitist Clarence Mattei (1883-1945) captured images of notable figures on the local, national and international stages of his time.

But his roots are deep in Santa Barbara County as the son of the founder of famed Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos.

A new exhibit at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community,” on view now through May, showcases the artist’s work in oil, pen, pencil and charcoal from 1898 to 1945. It includes drawings made in Los Olivos from the artist’s teenage years, which are on view for the first time.

“This is an incredible look at one of our most well-known residents and a celebration of a career that spanned more than 40 years,” said Dacia Harwood, museum director.

“We’re especially gratified to present the early drawings, which were recently gifted to us and have not been exhibited before.”

At the height of his career, Mr.

FYI

Mattei was among the most soughtafter portraitists in the country, creating images of influential people, including a president, as well as prominent local residents and tourists visiting his El Paseo studio.

But his beginnings were in Los Olivos, where his father, SwissItalian immigrant Felix, founded the stagecoach stop Mattei’s Tavern in 1886. It became a popular hotel and watering hole, a reputation that continues to this day.

Mr. Mattei was 15 when he made a pen-and-ink rendition of Emmanuel Leutze’s “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” which is included in the exhibit.

While staying at Mattei’s Tavern, philanthropists Herman and Ellen Duryea saw Mr. Mattei’s work and became his patrons. They paid for his professional training and for him to attend the prestigious Mark Hopkins Art Institute in San Francisco from 1900 to 1902, which ultimately launched his career.

He later studied in Paris at Académie Julian under Jean Paul Laurens and opened a studio in New York City.

Early works in the exhibition include oil portraits of Mr. Mattei’s family and tavern regulars, along with early renderings of the locals who worked

Please see MATTEI on B4

Calendar

ZACH MENDEZ PHOTO

Nitya Vidyasagar and Christine Mirzayan star in the Ensemble Theatre Company production of “Selling Kabul,” written by Sylvia Khoury and directed by Nike Doukas. The play, which is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul, begins its official run at 8 tonight at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The curtain will rise at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 19. There are additional shows at 7 p.m. Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 and 4 p.m. Feb. 11. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings:

Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from nonnative plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann.com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The Search for the Modern West,” an exhibit, continues through Feb. 20 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, see sullivangoss.com or call the gallery at 805-730-1460.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit “Parliament of Owls” runs through Feb. 5 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, go to www.sbnature.org.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei:

Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free.

Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical.org.

2 and 7:30 p.m. “The Gin Game” is being performed at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo. Tickets cost $21 for general admission and $18 for students and seniors. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org. There is no late seating.

8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. The curtain will rise at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 19. There are additional shows at 7 p.m. Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 and 4 p.m. Feb. 11. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb. org or call 805-965-5400.

FEB. 5

Free admission will be available on this day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Ventura County, the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum and the Santa Paula Museum. For more information, visit socalmuseums.org.

2 p.m. “The Gin Game” is being performed at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo. Tickets cost $21 for general admission and $18 for