Spring 2026

TRAVELING INTO MONTEREY COUNTY’S PAST A Dr ive Through the Ar t of Jo Mora B Y P E T E R H I L L E R C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 117 T here are numerous cultural threads to fol- low both historically and artistically throughout Mon- terey County. One such thread involves tracing the artistic accomplishments of Joseph “Jo” Jacinto Mora (1876-1947), per- haps the most interesting artist and writer you may have never heard of. His art in public places still exists throughout Monterey County, from the southern part to its northern reaches, and out west to the coast. On October 22, 1876, Mora was born in Uruguay to a classi- cally trained Catalonian sculptor father and a French-born mother. The family moved to the Eastern U.S. when Mora was very young. After attending several art schools on the East Coast and working as an illustra- tor and cartoonist in the Boston area, Mora spent the rest of his adult life living and working in the Western U.S., the last 27 years of which were in Carmel and Pebble Beach. In 1920 Mora found himself—along with his wife and two children— moving to Carmel from the San Francisco Bay Area to work on what he later regarded as his most significant masterpiece—the Father Serra Cenotaph in the Memorial Chapel at Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo. But the cenotaph was just the start of Mora’s work in Monterey County. Mora’s artistic gifts range over a wide variety of mediums, includ- ing drawing, painting, illustration, cartooning, sculpture, photogra- phy, mapmaking and writing; the diversity of which is an amazing accomplishment for one person. Wonderful examples of his work are on display throughout Monterey County and tracing the trail has never been easier, thanks to the advent of the internet. Throughout this article, place names in italics can be used to ini- tiate a search to bring you to the location of an example of Mora’s work. Beginning in the South County town of King City you can view the decorative elements of one of Mora’s most significant achievements, the Robert Stanton Theater. Initially built for—and still functioning as— the King City High School Auditorium, this building was designed by Jo Mora’s neighbor and friend, architect Robert Stanton. It was the second building the pair worked on together and both projects were Work Projects Administration (WPA) efforts, completed between 1937- 1940. Both buildings have since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Architect Robert Stanton with Jo Mora, gazing upon one of the nu- merous column caps sculpted for the Monterey County Courthouse. Lewis Josselyn, courtesy of the Jo Mora Collection, Monterey History and Art Association