The Artwork page is intended to give viewers a brief overview of the wide ranging subject matter that appeared in Jo Mora’s art and to introduce the variety of mediums he skillfully used. Click on the images for a larger view.
This elegant painting exemplifies Jo's interest in early California history and his keen sense of design as seen in the decorative border.This studio view of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, now seen in Golden Gate park in San Francisco, would lead to the whole family moving to the Monterey Peninsula.Through the business of Jo Mora Jr., the creative graphic art of Jo Mora would find its way into popular culture.This pen and ink drawing from one of Jo Mora's sketchbooks demonstrates his outstanding abilities as an illustrator.Early in his professional career as an artist, Jo created cartoons for the Boston Herald newspaper. Animaldom: The Complete Series of Published Comics Created by J.J. Mora Study of the Animaldom comics by Joss Grandeau with Jo Mora's original notebooksDuring military training for World War I, Jo worked on the Camp Zachary Taylor newspaper.Personifying forest animals was a continuous theme of Jo's as seen in this ad for Yosemite for the Los Angeles Times newspaper.Jo Mora was gifted at creating the sculptural adornments on large buildings as seen is this detail at the now San Jose Athletic Club in San Jose, CA.Jo Mora's anthropomorphic animal murals were so engaging that they were used as art on walls, menus, and postcards.Jo often illustrated books for publishers, the income from which enabled him to travel to, explore, and eventually move to the western United States.The history of early California would be another ongoing theme of Jo's as newlywed couples can be seen in drawings, paintings, sculptures, and on Jo's cartes.This very rare colored milk bottle was created for the dairy in exchange for eggs, milk and cheese.This bas relief panel is one of many sculptural pieces Jo created for the Works Progress Administration era Monterey County Courthouse in Salinas, CA.
