Painted Rock Pictograph Collection, MS 041
Pages: Collection Summary | Biographical Note | Scope and Content
Abstract
Image © Painted Rock Pictograph Collection, Cal Poly.
This collection contains four India ink drawings from tracings made of the original pictographs found on the formation known as the Painted Rock (La Piedra Pintada; also called the Carisa Rock), located on the Carrizo Plain in eastern San Luis Obispo County, California. Native Americans—primarily Chumash Indians—drew the original drawings on the sacred, ceremonial site. The pictographs were sketched in the 1870s by pioneer Carrizo Plain resident Mary Brumley Noyes, who spent part of her youth on the nearby El Saucito Rancho with her family. Painted Rock is a local landmark, rising dramatically from the surrounding flat plains. In the intervening years since her sketches were made, the rock art has been vandalized and has deteriorated due to human use and weather conditions. The collection was donated by her descendents in 1990. An additional donation to the collection is a short, unpublished radio script depicting the Brumley family's life on the Carrizo Plain, c. 1950s. Nothing is known about its author, L. Munson of Los Angeles. An additional donation traces the family's history and includes vintage prints of Painted Rock.
Finding Aid
- OAC — Search the electronic finding aid for this collection at the Online Archive of California.
- PDF — Download the complete finding aid
Descriptive Summary
- Title: Painted Rock Pictograph Collection, c. 1870s, c. 1900s, c. 1950s
- Collection Number: MS 041
- Creator: Noyes, Mary Brumley, 1857-1886
- Extent: 1 box
- Languages: English
Related Collections
Angel, Myron. The Painted Rock of California: La Piedra Pintada, a Legend. San Luis Obispo, CA: Padre Productions, 1979.
Pages: Collection Summary | Biographical Note | Scope and Content
