The Betty Guy Collection
Welcome to Watercolors Around the World with Betty Guy. This vast collection of paintings, drawings, etchings, monoprints, monotypes, and embossings spans 68 years of work. There are over 3,000 cataloged pieces. This collection is a journey through Betty's years of education, traveling, printmaking, painting, and drawing the world as she saw it.
Betty Guy painted views of beautiful destinations and regular everyday slices of life wherever she was visiting. You will see street corners in London, a sunrise in Norway, market day in Kenya, open window views of rooftops in Paris, and foggy panoramas of her hometown, San Francisco.
To show the progression of her talent, her earliest recorded work is from when she was a student. Witnessing her style of painting and level of detail evolve, it is impossible to not choose a favorite time period and style.
Over 400 paintings in this collection showcase the San Francisco Opera, most of which are autographed by performers, conductors, and composers. The War Memorial Opera House was her home away from home. She was a curtain page for 35 years and would attend rehearsals to sketch and paint.
This body of work also includes abstract art, monoprints, and monotypes. If you are already well acquainted with Betty's flowing watercolor paintings, you will see how the abstract work adds another dimension to her collection.
In addition to Betty's long standing relationship with Gump's Gallery, she was also commissioned by many other San Francisco institutions. One of her greatest professional joys was being asked to paint a watercolor of John and Eleine Steinbeck's cottage in England; this led her to write a book about her experience and unexpected friendship with the Steinbecks called Surprise For Steinbeck.
As you move through each gallery you will easily see which locations were her favorites. It is extraordinary to witness this woman moving around the globe since 1950, using her instincts and talent to portray everyday beauty in the world. ❤