55 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105 (click to view)
Sited in Exchange Alley, the mural depicts a woman holding an umbrella, or parasol, and is reminiscent of Eva Fenyes, the former owner of the building where the new mural is installed and proprietor of the Fenyes Mansion at the site of the Pasadena Museum of History. The mural has been executed in Kenton Nelson's signature style, which recalls the social realist public art aesthetic made popular during the 1930s-1940s New Deal Era. The mosaic mural consists of 121,000 glass tiles divided into two sections, upper and lower, each approximately 11 by seven feet. Assembled by hand, the mosaic includes a palette of over 90 tile and grout colors which serve to maximize the contrast and painterly look of the mural. - Janette Williams Photo © Ian Robertson-Salt