by Beth Purcell

Charles C. Stewart first made his way to Todos Santos in the early 1980s, back when a car trip from Cabo San Lucas took more than two and a half hours on a rutted, dirt road. On their first visit, Stewart and his wife, Marylou, fell in love with the pueblo and began looking to buy a home. They were disappointed this first trip, but returned a year later to find and purchase the building that would become beloved home, workspace, and gallery, the Charles Stewart Gallery & Studio, commonly referred to simply as “Stewart House.”

Mr. Stewart passed away in 2011, we had the privilege to interview him before his passing. Stewart had an impressive art background. He first studied art at the Toledo Art Museum, then painting and sculpture at the Art Students League in New York. In 1950 he left New York to visit México City, and from there moved to Taos, New Mexico, where he studied at the Valley Art School under Louis Ribak. Stewart remained in Taos for many years, during which he received wide critical acclaim.

Winning numerous prizes and awards for his painting and sculpture, his work has been shown in group and one-man exhibitions in more than 15 states in the US. He also taught at the Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma and at the Taos Art Association.
Once he and Marylou had settled into their new Todos Santos’ home, Charles continued to create. He fashioned beautifully carved doors, iron gates, and abundant paintings, the latter of which he hung under the sprawling veranda to dry. The Stewarts’ French-style home was built in the early 1800s and has a veranda that wraps around it. With such colorful and imaginative work hanging beneath it to dry, it didn’t take long for people to notice Charles Stewart was in town.

Soon word spread. A neighbor of the Stewarts, Professor Nester Agundez, head of the Cultural Center in Todos Santos, started bringing people in from La Paz to view Stewart’s work. It was immediately popular, and the artist was invited to do various shows in La Paz. When the new Teatro de la Ciudad de La Paz was opened, Stewart was asked, along with other Mexican artists, to show his paintings in the opening of the theater’s gallery. Although Stewart was not new to art shows or gallery openings, it was satisfying to show his work alongside the works of accomplished artists native to his newly adopted country.

During his career in the States, Stewart painted primarily in oil on canvas. But he found himself painting in watercolor in his early days in Todos Santos, focusing on old ruins and historic homes. Until his passing, he never stopped painting with oils, or carving and sculpting in wood. Stewart had a unique technique that involved using a small amount of pigment on burlap, resulting in a primitive looking final image that resembles wood-collage, rather than “paint–painting,” with the feel of sculpture. Critics have described his inventive work as interesting and highly imaginative, luminous, and as having “a gaiety of color.”

After the new road to Todos Santos was complete, more people began visiting the town. Increasingly, they took note of the gray-haired artist-in-residence. Once the Mexican government had committed to turning Cabo San Lucas into a resort destination, things changed even more quickly. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Stewart started doing an annual arts and crafts show. His one-man show at the Andalaya in Pedregal in 1984 was the first art show ever to be held in Cabo San Lucas. It was a great success, one which helped pave the way for other local artists to sell their art.

Although he was the only artist in Todos Santos in the early 1990s, Stewart’s presence was a major influence in reshaping the town into the artist colony that it is today. Knowing that an accomplished artist of 45 years was thriving in this small Mexican pueblo, other talented artists were encouraged to visit.

Todos Santos has a certain light conducive to artistic expression; and an abundance of beauty that is innately appealing to artists. However, it wasn’t until 1995 that a second gallery was opened there by artist Michael Copes and his wife, Pat.

Since then, Todos Santos has grown into a full-fledged artist colony. Today it boasts a diverse collection of artists producing work in a wide range of mediums. Currently, there are 11 galleries－amazing for a town of only 5,000 people. You’ll find paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor, as well as paper-tile mosaic, wood sculpture, wood carving, and photographic and multi-media arts. Todos Santos’ art scene is flourishing, and shows no signs of slowing.

“We have a very diversified bunch of accomplished artists,” Marylou Stewart, Charles’ wife told BajaTraveler®. ”So many art colonies in the States have artists who are copying one another. I hope that it keeps developing in this manner. I know it has kept Charles on his toes, as he isn’t the only artist on the block any more,” she added. While some artists move on, new galleries open. Marylou noted at the time, that another Taos artist, Margret Woodall, had settled in Todos Santos. New restaurants have sprung up, as well as a bakery that features coffee and wonderful sweets. Like the other communities of Baja, Todos Santos continues to grow.

As to how Todos Santos influenced the man, Charles Stewart did what he enjoyed most in life in a place that he loved, and gained the respect of the people and other artists in town. He continued to create and grow artistically until his passing in 2011. Our editor-in-chief had the privilege to know him, to this day she conserves one of his paintings that Charles gave to her.