An art show featuring works by Indigenous artist Penni Anne Cross will take place at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center from April 17 to May 20, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Promotional image)

An art show featuring works by Indigenous artist Penni Anne Cross will take place at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center from April 17 to May 20, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Promotional image)

Kenai visitor center to showcase work by Indigenous artist

Local businessman Robert Favretto wanted to showcase Cross’ art after he recovered it from the late artist’s house last summer.

The Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center will host a grand opening reception for its new Penni Anne Cross art show and sale this Saturday at 6 p.m.

Cross was a member of the Crow Native American Indian tribe, and many of her portraits illustrate various aspects of Indigenous culture.

She was born in 1939 in Washington state, and learned portrait-style painting from her mother. Cross then began her formal artistic education in 1968. She died in 2016.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Robert Favretto, owner of the Great Alaska Car Company in Kenai, wanted to showcase Cross’ art after he recovered it from the late artist’s house last summer.

Favretto went into business with Cross’ former partner, Mike Grossman, in 1993. In 1996 Favretto and Grossman flew to Anchorage, drove to Kenai and bought a car dealership. Favretto met Cross through his business partner.

“She was quiet,” Favretto said. “She was a very private person, almost a recluse.”

Grossman and Cross stayed in touch for years, even after Grossman returned to the Lower 48 according to Favretto, and were close until her passing. Last summer Grossman called Favretto and asked him to sell Cross’ house up north in Willow.

Upon entering Cross’ house, Favretto found multiple portraits.

“Mike said there was another box,” Favretto said — which was actually a 40-foot connex steel container outside — among “the grass and the trees” outside her property.

Inside he found more: there was art “from the front to the back of the connex, floor to ceiling wall to wall, that had been stored … over a 40-year period.”

Favretto salvaged what he could over the four months he sorted through Cross’ portraits, and asked the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center if they would be interested in displaying it.

“I thought it would be an awesome way to let the public see the breadth of her work,” he said.

The Hearth Eatery will cater Saturday’s reception, and beer and wine will be available for purchase. Admission and dining are both free.

The art show and sale will continue through May 20 at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center, and all the proceeds will go toward supporting the chamber of commerce and other local charities.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA opens bids for real property

The deadline to submit bids is 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. (right) attends a change of plea hearing related to the October 2023 fatal shooting of Brianna Hetrick on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Homer Courthouse in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Mondragon-Lopez sentenced for death of Homer woman

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. accepted a plea deal in February for the shooting of Brianna Hetrick.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs $395,000 capital plan

This year’s list of capital projects is “nominal compared to some past years,” according to officials.

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in