Customs House, Monterey, Cal. (Southeast corner)

Charles Rollo Peters

California tonalist Charles Rollo Peters studied in Paris at the Academie Julien and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and was greatly influenced by Whistler, who commented that Peters was the only other artist able to paint nocturnes. Peters lived in Monterey and used the adobes, such as the Customs House, as the subjects of many of these nocturnes, which he exhibited internationally to great acclaim.

Dennis Copeland, archivest at the Monterey, CA. Public Library commented: "Clearly, the north and south towers are based on the Custom House. Other features of the building seem to be Peters' artistic rendering of an adobe at night. The positioning of the adobe structure on a steep hill would-- in physical reality-- have it standing high on the hills above old town Monterey or on the Mesa area above San Carlos Church. The only other adobe with a two story tower on an end would be Casa Buelna on the Mesa. However, it had only one two-story section on an end of the building. So I would definitely say that the painting is "based" on the Custom House design." For more information on Peters please see our Biography above.

This painting was from the collection of the California painter Arthur Cahill (1878-1970).