“My first body of work was in 1976, painting the 12 Fairy Tale portraits of 150 Mendocino locals for The Sea Gull Restaurant and Cellar Bar,” explains James Maxwell. The paintings were completed between 1976 and 1986. “The Sea Gull paintings represent the fairy tales we were told as children and include portraits of Mendocino locals portrayed as actors in the tales.” They hung between the large roof beams in the Cellar Bar until the restaurant closed. The bar was located upstairs in the new restaurant building constructed by David Clayton and his crew. To view all the paintings and to purchase prints, visit The James Maxwell website.
The original Pied Piper painting in the old Cellar Bar was captured in this picture before the 1976 fire.
Reception in the original Sea Gull Cellarbar
I was remembering that the original Pied Piper was on a Tapestry in the old Cellar Bar. Max completed the first painting and it was so well received that he continued to paint his Fairy Tales, which hung upstairs in the new “cellar bar”!
Always loved these paintings. May have to buy a print. Where did the originals go?
Most of the originals were sold in an auction at the Mendocino Art Center. Most went to local Mendocino residents.