Sonoma Valley Museum of Art showing rare landscape paintings by 99-year-old Richard Mayhew

The first things you might notice about the paintings of Richard Mayhew are the soft colors and gentle shapes.

His abstract landscapes capture the feel and mood of the trees and hills without attempting to document every detail with photographic clarity.

That’s why the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art’s current exhibition of 20 rare paintings and five prints, all examples of the 99-year-old African American/Native American artist’s work, is titled “Inner Terrain.”

And why are his paintings rare after such a long career?

“He’s been so popular that it’s hard to borrow works for this exhibition, because most of his paintings have sold or are hard to obtain,” said Shelby Graham, co-curator of the exhibit. “Very few of those collectors are willing to loan their art.”

While abstract, Mayhew’s pictures are still easily recognizable as landscapes, she said.

“Some are more representational than others, but we can get the essence of a landscape in his work,” Graham explained.

Richard Mayhew was born April 3, 1924, in Amityville, New York. His father was of African American and Shinnecock tribe descent and his mother was of African American and Cherokee-Lumbee descent.

His interest in art started early, when his mother would take him to New York City to see paintings.

Mayhew studied at the Art Students League of New York and later attended Brooklyn Museum Art School from 1948 to 1959. He also took some courses at Columbia University. In 1958, he won the John Hay Whitney Fellowship and took his family with him to Europe.

He was a founding member of Spiral, a Black painters’ collective in New York that formed in 1963 after the March on Washington as a way for artists to discuss their experiences in the civil rights movement.

“He’s still painting, but not as much or as long as he used to,” Graham said.

For 14 years, Mayhew taught at Pennsylvania State University, starting in 1977 and retiring in 1991.

Mayhew now lives in Santa Cruz, where Graham retired in 2021 after 22 years as director and curator of the Sesnon Art Gallery at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

For the Sonoma exhibit, Shelby teamed up with co-curator Kajahl, who uses just the one name and is a protege of Mayhew’s.

“I met Richard Mayhew when I was beginning my artistic journey, and his mentorship and guidance were instrumental,” Kajahl said.

“He suggested that I study abroad and that I move to New York City, both of which opened up my artistic opportunities,” Kajahl added. “Richard also challenged me to push the boundaries of traditional art forms.”

Mayhew will join Graham and Kajahl in a discussion about the exhibit at the museum on Sunday (see factbox for details).

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.