In loving memory of Dorothy Churchill-Johnson
Founding Member
1943 - 2023
The Setting: A salon in Santa Barbara, in the earliest days of the new 21 century. The artist Dorothy Churchill Johnson gathered a group of women artists to her small second floor apartment in Santa Barbara to discuss art and topics that continued to affect women artists in the new millennium. The living room was dominated by her easel holding a large canvas, an intense and detailed closeup of a succulent painted in oil, and stacked against the walls of the room were many more canvases On the table a bottle of champagne.
From this simple beginning the group expanded and the gatherings continued. An invitation to Dorothy’s salon meant an exciting and inspired afternoon discussing and exploring art issues with a dedicated group of artists.
Eventually a core group of these artists, with Dorothy at the helm, began a serious effort to gain recognition for their work as a group. Meeting for that purpose in 2022, it was decided to put a proposal together to submit to museums, and the name Western Edge was selected.
The first opportunity to exhibit as Western Edge came in February 2023 at the Thomas Reynolds Gallery, where the exhibit “Broad Spectrum,” curated by Andy Campognone, effectively focused the 13 artists, solidified the many details, and showed to acclaim. Dorothy’s painting “Angels and Demons” on display at the center of the gallery was surrounded by the works of the 12 artists she had nurtured.
In May 2023 Dorothy Churchill Johnson left planet earth, and so this is dedicated to her, the inspired, dedicated and determined artist that founded Western Edge.