World renowned marine artist Violet Kinney Parkhurst passed away Sunday January 13, 2008 in San Pedro, California. Violet Parkhurst was born in Derby Line, VT, April 26, 1921, and attended the School of Practical Arts in Boston, and Baylor College in Waco, Texas and the Museum in Rio de Janeiro.  Violet finished her formal training in the arts at Los Angeles City College. Her legendary seascapes are collected by over five million people around the world including four US Presidents, two Presidents of China, King of Saudi Arabia, and a host of celebrities including her very first admirer Clark Gable.  Parkhurst paintings are on permanent collection in dozens of museums around the world including the China National Museum of Fine Art and the Stockholm Museum.  She has also been on exhibit in the Louvre and Prado Museums.  In the Spring of 2002, Violet Parkhurst was honored as the first western artist to have paintings in the collections of The Great Hall of the Peoples Republic of China and the China National Museum of Fine Arts, and was installed as Professor Emeritus at the Jilin Art College. In 2005 Violet Parkhurst, through the efforts of Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Larry Covin, was honored for her contribution to the arts by the City of Los Angeles, with a resolution granting her a namesake day, Violet Parkhurst Day, November 3rd. Her lifetime philanthropic contributions included serving on the Board of Directors for the Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service with two years service as President. Her artwork has been seen on the cover of the program for the past 20+ years.  Violet Parkhurst’s contribution to cross-cultural philanthropy is evident in her position as chairwoman of the World American Cultural Exchange, as well as her early work as a foreign correspondent. She is remembered as an avid animal lover and supporter of animal rights, with a distinguished history with such organizations as Actors and Others for Animals.   In recognition of her lifetime achievement Violet is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in International Art, Community Leaders, Noteworthy Americans and American Artists of Renown.

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Violet Parkhurst was born in Derby line, Vermont. She showed an early penchant for drawing. She later attended the School of Practical Arts in Boston, won a scholarship to the Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a year of study at Baylor College in Waco, Texas. She then finished her formal training at Los Angeles State College.

Believing that an artist should see the world before they can become a great artist, she indulged her longings and visited every state of the Union, then Canada. In Mexico City she studied art for three months with Diego Rivera's wife. She received a scholarship to the Rio de Janeiro Museum and was off to South America. On her way to Rio, the ship she was on had to drop the passengers in Natal, Brazil due to a revolution. They had to use the ship for Army personnel. She then rented a house in Natal, Brazil, studied Portuguese and wrote and illustrated a book. It was entitled "Jaguar By The Tale!" and was published in Rio. Here she painted pictures of the natives, the fruit markets and huts, all of which she sold. To pay for the travel, she became a Foreign Correspondent for movie magazines published and distributed in South America. She has interviews and photos of herself with most of the major stars including Clark Gable whom she dated.

Her love of the ocean also includes her own sailboats and cruisers in which she has enjoyed exploring the Pacific and Mexican waters. Her other love is her thoroughbred horses, which she has bred and raced since 1976 with many winners.

Parkhurst paints seascapes, life-like studies of the bubbling foam-flinging seas of the world, which thunder of the shores in their wild rush for the beach. She captures the moonlit seas as well as the summer surf.

She paints both the male and female nude, not thin, demure, cloak-shrouded figures, but full, fleshy, wholly-exposed Rubens ian nudes set in dreamy settings and displaying unashamedly their magnificent, God-given charms and attributes. For her successful invasion of these customarily male domains, and for her masterful rendering of the paintings, Violet Parkhurst has won scholarships, trophies, ribbons, accolades, critical acclaim and an international reputation.

Two of her seascapes were chosen with twenty-four other artist's paintings to tour Europe for the Cultural Exchange. The show was at all major museums including the Louvre and Prado. The two paintings are now in the permanent collection of the Stockholm Museum.

In the Spring of 2002, Violet Parkhurst was invited to China, where she was honored as the first western artist to have paintings in the collections of The Great Hall of the Peoples Republic of China and the China National Museum of Fine Arts, and was installed as Professor Emeritus at the Jilin Art College. Read more about the 2002 China trip. Read more about Violet's second invitation to China.

Violet has served on the Board of Directors for the Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service, and her artwork has been used on the cover of the program, website and marketing materials for the past 20+ years.  On their site Violet is listed as "Angel" which is the highest level of supporter. Read the Press Release.

Violet's paintings are in eight museums worldwide and she is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in International Art, Community Leaders, Noteworthy Americans and American Artists of Renown.

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A few noted collectors:
President Gerald Ford
President Richard Nixon
President George Bush
President Ronald Reagan
King Faud (Saudi Arabia)
Angela Lansbury
Governor Pete Wilson
Hilton Hotels
Dinah Shore
Rory Calhoun
James Arness
Stephanie Powers
Shirley Jones
Connie Stevens
Robert Brooks
L.A. Mayor Sam Yorty
L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley
Peabody of Howard Johnson
Honorable Mayor of Kobe, Japan

... with President Ronald Reagan

... with Gerald Ford

Hollywood Bowl Poster