AGNES PELTON (1881-1961) Untitled (Study for Mt San Jacinto-Cathedral City) signed and dated 'Agnes Pelton 1932' (lower right); inscribed 'Fixed' (verso) pastel on paper 10 x 14 in (25 x 36 cm) Executed in 1932 Footnotes: Provenance Stonehaven House Antiques & Fine Art, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2005. Executed in 1932, this luminous pastel captures the distinctive, squared silhouette of the San Jacinto Mountains during Agnes Pelton's first year in Cathedral City, California. Following her move from New York to the desert, Pelton increasingly turned to the surrounding landscape, producing plein-air paintings and pastel studies that could later serve as the basis for larger compositions. The intense heat of the desert made pastel an especially practical medium, allowing her to work rapidly while distilling the landscape into a few seemingly quick swipes of color. Pelton was also conscious of the rapid development of Cathedral City and sought to preserve and document the expansive desert and mountain views surrounding her home before they disappeared. Although she regarded abstraction ultimately as her 'real work,' these landscapes were deeply important to her practice, providing both artistic fulfillment and a vital source of income during her years in the California desert. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing