Ina's Circle - featuring the Bruton Sisters!

 

Filmmaker William Lorton has created a beautiful documentary, Ina's Circle, about the artist Ina Perham, a relative of his who was the Bruton sisters' best friend.  Ina was close with all three Brutons: the four friends studied art together in Monterey, travelled together (to Tahiti, Europe, Taos, and Virginia City just to name a few), and corresponded regularly.  The letters exchanged between Ina, Margaret, Esther, and Helen figure prominently in my upcoming book, Sisters in Art, and the Brutons play a large role in Lorton's film.

Lorton was working on his film and I was researching the Bruton sisters long before we knew about each other.  It was exciting to discover that we were working independently on parallel projects that feature the same women artists.  Several years later, our projects are completed and beginning to find their way into the world.  Sisters in Art will hit bookstores on October 26, and Ina's Circle is currently making the rounds in film festivals.  It recently won "Best Documentary" at the Ignite Film Festival in the UK and will be featured next weekend at the Breckenridge Film Festival. The film will be available to view online early next year.  I highly recommend viewing the trailer for Ina's Circle which you can find here.