Master's Collection
For many years, PWS owned what the group dubbed "The Masters Collection." These paintings were either donated to the group by the artist or purchased by PWS. The collection was composed of paintings by some of our best artists and of the group's original mentor, Alf Dunn. For years these paintings were stored at the homes of PWS members. PWS always hoped to have a physical location at which to display the artwork, but we were unable to achieve that goal. In 2024, the group decided to donate paintings by each artist to the Latah Historical Society (where they may be taken out on loan) and to offer the remaining pieces for sale at PWS' 50th Anniversary Exhibit at the Dahmen Barn. Paintings exhibited and sold at the Dahmen Barn included work by Alf Dunn, Malcolm Renfrew, Kay Montgomery, and Gertrude Peterson.
Alf Dunn
Alf Dunn was a nationally known watercolor artist who was born in Los Angeles, California in 1909 and grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. He graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.A. in Art in 1936. He joined the University of Idaho faculty in 1941 and devoted thirty-three years of his professional life to the instruction of students in painting with a focus on scenes of Idaho. Admirers across the nation have acquired his paintings. His watercolors have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute, in the former Soviet Union, Iran, France and South Africa in addition to numerous museums and galleries in the West, in schools, corporate offices and private collections. The paintings of Alf Dunn have been represented in traveling exhibits to foreign countries sponsored by the U.S. Office of Information. He was elected to the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame in 1982 and honored as an “Idaho Treasure” at a banquet in October 1999 by the University of Idaho Alumni and Retirees Associations. Students he taught were inspired to form the Palouse Watercolor Socius in 1974. He passed away in April of 2002.
Malcolm Renfrew
In his retirement, Malcolm Renfrew pursued his passion for art. He became a prolific watercolor painter and joined the Palouse Watercolor Socius in the 1990s. His work was featured at a special exhibit at the Latah County Fair in 2007. Most of his paintings were of places he and his wife, Carol, visited during their travels to every continent except Antarctica. Malcolm Renfrew, the esteemed alumnus and professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Idaho, died in 2013 at the age of 103, on the evening of his birthday. The Chemistry Department building was named after Renfrew in 1985.
Kay Montgomery
Kay Montgomery was born and raised in southwest Idaho. She was known as a non-traditional watercolor artist and her artwork ranged from the abstract to the realistic. Kay also worked with other mediums such as acrylics, inks, fabric dyes, collage, gemstones, pastels, and colored pencils. Kay was one of the founding members of the Palouse Watercolor Socius, a member of the Idaho Watercolor Society and the Northwest Watercolor Society, and spent years practicing art in a variety of mediums, establishing herself as an award-winning and widely respected artist. About her art Kay said, “I try to paint the emotion evoked by the ocean, the feeling that a fir tree elicits or the elation that a windy day arouses. I am not a purist in my use of watercolor but use whatever strikes my fancy and the mood of the moment."
Gertrude Peterson
Gertrude had a great passion and unique talent for watercolor painting. Her many canvasses are hanging in homes throughout the nation and in the Idaho State Capitol. Her artwork was on the front of the 2001 Latah County Fair programs and T-shirts. She grew many varieties of flowers, irises being a favorite, which then became one of her many art subjects. Gertrude's colorful and sometimes humorous paintings will be enjoyed for years to come and her quick wit and creative ways will be missed. Gertrude Peterson passed away at the age of 90 in 2007.
