Earlier this year, the Mendocino Coast lost one of its most devoted artists and historians with the passing of Kevin Milligan. Kevin’s paintings captured not only the beauty of Mendocino’s historic buildings and landscapes, but also the spirit of the community he came to love so deeply.
A building, a water tower, and the ocean by Kevin Milligan.
In the summer of 2024, the Kelley House Museum was honored to celebrate his work with the exhibition Paint the Town: The Art of Kevin Milligan, which introduced visitors to his remarkable paintings and the stories behind them. As we remember Kevin, we are grateful for his generosity, his meticulous research, and the enduring record he created of Mendocino’s architectural and cultural heritage. The following is an excerpt from Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial by Kevin Milligan.
The California town of Mendocino is like no other. Situated on a tiny peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean, it is bounded by Agate Cove in the north and Big River flowing into Mendocino Bay on the south. Four-story bluffs reveal coves, natural bridges, sea caves, and secluded bridges – each taking on different aspects depending on the height of the tide and eaves. During the winter months, fierce storms batter the cliffs while twenty-foot waves crash with a thunder that resonates in the caves beneath, and can be heard miles away. The terrain gradually rises to the hills of the central and eastern sections. From higher elevations beautiful panoramas look down on wooden rooftops of quaint New England-style buildings and trademark water towers, all with the bay and ocean beyond.
In June of 1997, I made my first trip to Mendocino as a needed break from the rigors of a busy season working in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to seeking a quiet get-away, I’d hoped to find a subject to begin a painting for eventual publication as a lithograph in a series called “The California Coast.” My previous travels had taken me along the Central Coast from San Francisco to Carmel, painting subjects that became the basis for this California Coast lithograph series. I wanted to expand the series to subjects north of San Francisco and had tried to imagine what the town of Mendocino might look like. When I arrived and first took in the setting of the village, it was a complete surprise. Old wooden buildings next to open fields and the ocean were reminiscent of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island of Massachusetts. It became apparent that Mendocino contained numerous subjects suited to my art.
After making numerous paintings of Mendocino (more than 80 in two years), it became apparent that they could serve as a pictorial documentation of the place. Structures built in the 19th century were still standing on the threshold of the 21st, but most of them were showing signs of age. Many wooden water towers were leaning, houses had holes in their roofs and walls, and all needed major repair. My paintings of the weathered buildings could document the old look before restoration took place.
To do research on each structure, I was introduced to the Kelley House Museum archives. I am eternally grateful to Mendocino Historical Research, Inc. – especially to the [former] museum directors, first Majorie Eseppi and then Charlie West – for providing invaluable assistance and access to important documents. My work could not have been completed without MHR, Inc., which continues to serve anyone interested in the history and genealogy of the region. I wish Dorothy Bayer and Beth Stebbins were still around so I could thank them personally for beginning the organized collection and preservation of Mendocino’s history.
Mendocino: A Painted Pictorial by Kevin Milligan features many of the beloved artist’s paintings along with history of each building. Copies are available at the Kelley House Museum. The Kelley House is open Thursday-Monday, 11am to 3pm. Visit our event calendar for a walking tour schedule.