A Journal for Classic Western Art
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December 2013
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WHAT'S GOING ON
Snow has settled on the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the colorful aspen leaves have all but scattered, and the scent of pi�on wood burning in fireplaces fills the cold air that has come to Santa Fe - all signs to remind us that winter is here.
In this issue of the ZLG e-News, we send our holiday greetings and offer what we hope is an interesting mix of art and information. To start, we have a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Gustave Baumann's woodblocks that help us to understand the process behind his intricate print-making technique. We are also pleased to offer our readers a special online exhibition, "Santa Fe - A Collection of Cultures," that showcases a variety of extraordinary examples of works from the early inhabitants of our region, dating from the Spanish Colonial era onward, including textiles, furniture, hand-carved and painted religious objects, and pottery.
In our new acquisitions section, you will find featured paintings by Maynard Dixon, Frank Tenney Johnson, O.E. Berninghaus, and Birger Sandzen. And for this, our holiday issue, we have compiled a listing of the regional Pueblo dances that will be performed during this year's holiday period, as well as included our regular features highlighting two new books, selected museum exhibits nationwide and in New Mexico.
We wish you and your families a happy holiday season and, as always, please remember to stop by and visit us whenever you are in Santa Fe.
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CONTACT US | |
651 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
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EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
GUSTAVE BAUMANN: The Woodblocks
by Jeff Thurston
Many people far and wide are familiar with the beautiful color woodblock prints of Gustave Baumann. Far fewer people have had the opportunity to see the actual woodblocks that Baumann carved to create those prints.
Baumann typically incorporated five to seven blocks for each print; every color within the print required a different carved block. In 1919 he described his process:
"Draw on the block whatever you want, cut away whatever you don't want and print what is left. Of course between beginning the first cut and signing the proof, there are any number of very aggravating slips possible that sometimes mean recutting an entire set of blocks or reprinting the edition, but these are things one learns to forget--then if the finished product contains a little of the spirit and atmosphere of the locality it depicts I am as a rule almost satisfied."*
"Pines - Grand Canyon"
Black block
Gustave Baumann (1881-1971)
"Pines - Grand Canyon" No. 35
Color woodblock print
12 3/4 x 12 3/4 inches
Titled lower left; signed lower right
Over time, these blocks have become treasures in their own right. It is not unusual to see them framed in the original wide body frames that Baumann favored, constructed from the same basswood that the blocks were made from. You can even see them in the entryway of the Baumann home where he used them as decorative panels to cover the hot water radiators.
"San Domingo Pueblo"
Yellow block
"San Domingo Pueblo"
Color woodblock print
Ed. 70/125
10 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches
Titled lower left; signed lower right
It is important to note that these blocks received a cancellation stamp after the editions were fulfilled. Baumann created a stamp of the "hand in heart" chop with the word "CANCELLED" above it and would stamp this directly into the block.
"Sanctuario"
Grey block
"Sanctuario"
Ed. 21/100 Color woodblock print
7 1/8 x 6 inches
Titled lower left; signed lower right
To view all of our Gustave Baumann color woodblock prints, click here.
* Gustave Baumann, El Palacio, April 7, 1919
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NEW ACQUISITIONS
Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939)
"The Harvest Moon"
Oil on canvas
34 1/2 x 28 inches
Signed lower right
1925
Oscar Edmund Berninghaus (1874-1952)
"A Bit of the Pueblo - Taos"
Oil on panel
16 x 20 inches
Signed lower left
E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956) "Taose�o" Oil on canvas 8 x 10 inches Signed lower right Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) "Picacho Solito" Oil on canvas board 16 x 20 inches Signed, inscribed and dated lower left: "Maynard Dixon, Rio Arriba N. Mex, Oct. 1931" Beulah Stevenson (1890-1965) "Burros in Santa Fe Canyon" Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches Signed lower right c. 1930 Birger Sandzen (1871-1954) "Chimayo, NM" Oil on board 20 x 24 inches Signed lower right 1949 Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) "Indian Riders on the Plains" Oil on canvas 29 3/4 x 39 3/4 inches Signed lower right 1968 To view more of our new acquisitions, click here. |
ONLINE EXHIBITION
Santa Fe - A Collection of Cultures
When European explorers "discovered" America, they classified Native Americans as savages. Over the centuries, as Europeans migrated to the New World and became Americans, they learned that Native Americans were, in fact, a collection of cultures and that each was as diverse as any culture in Europe.
Today, when people discover Santa Fe, they classify the culture here as "Southwestern." Over time, as they get to know Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, they learn - like those early explorers - that the Southwest is a collection of cultures, and that each contributes something special to the architecture, the art, the cuisine, and the experience that is Santa Fe.
For our online exhibition, we are presenting fine examples of nineteenth century Navajo blankets, historic and prehistoric Pueblo pottery, historic Rio Grande serapes, and Spanish Colonial furniture. We like these pieces because each one of them tells a story - the story of Santa Fe and its unique collection of cultures.
Arroyo Hondo Santero
Pine with natural pigments
18 1/2 x 10 5/8 inches
c. 1830
Pedro Antonio Fresquis (1749-1831)
San Antonio con Ni�o
Wood, gesso and natural pigments
17 x 7 x 3 3/4 inches
Rio Grande Blanket with Deep Indigo Bands
Wool 83 x 44 inches c. 1860 Navajo Classic Third Phase Chief's Blanket Wool 58 x 67 inches c. 1865 Navajo Pictorial Rug Featuring Birds, Woman and Man
Wool 56 x 32 inches c. 1885-1890 Black Olla with Fire Clouds San Juan Pueblo 13 x 20 inches
c. 1860 New Mexico Bench Pine 32 x 51 1/2 x 22 inches Early 19th century William Penhallow Henderson (1877-1943) Buffet Pine 36 x 44 x 19 3/4 inches c. 1920s Photographs of Pueblo and Navajo blankets are �2013 by Joshua Baer - All rights reserved. To view the entire online exhibition, click here. |
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The Northern Rio Grande Pueblos of New Mexico are all located within an easy drive of Santa Fe, and a further drive takes you to some of the Southern Rio Grande Pueblos, including Acoma Pueblo -- about 135 miles from Santa Fe, and well worth the drive. Puebloans prepare a variety of celebrations during the Christmas holiday period, many of which include traditional dances that spectators are invited to attend. It is recommended to call the main office at each Pueblo to confirm the dates and times of the dances and to inquire about rules for visitors that are specific to that Pueblo. Be sure to ask whether photographs are permitted!
Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956)
"Christmas Eve, Pueblo of Taos" Oil on panel 8 x 10 inches c. 1920
Acoma Pueblo-Sky City: Dec. 25-29, various dances and luminaria lighting. Christmas festivities will be held at San Estevan del Rey Mission, Sky City, Acoma. www.acomaskycity.org or (800) 747-0181
Cochiti Pueblo: Dec. 25-28, various Christmas dances; Jan. 1, Pueblo Corn Dances. (505)465-2244 Laguna Pueblo: Dec. 25, 10 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass followed by Deer, Harvest, Arrow and other dances after the mass. The Harvest dances will continue for three days. (505) 552-6654
Nambe Pueblo: Dec. 24, Christmas Eve Mass followed by Buffalo, Deer and Antelope Dances. (505) 455-2036
Picuris Pueblo: Dec. 24, Christmas celebrations and "Los Matachines." (575) 587-2519
Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo): Dec. 24 & 25, "Los Matachines" and Pine Torch Procession. (505) 852-4400
San Felipe Pueblo: Dec. 24, dances follow the midnight mass. Additional dances will be held on Christmas day. (505) 867-3381
San Ildefonso Pueblo: Dec. 24 & 25, Christmas celebrations and various dances. (505) 455-3549 or (505) 455-2273Santa Clara Pueblo: Dec. 24 & 25, Christmas celebrations and various dances. (505)
753-7326 or (505) 753-7330
Santo Domingo Pueblo: Dec. 25-28, various dances 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (505) 465-2214 Taos Pueblo: Dec. 24, Sundown Procession with bonfires. Jan. 1, Turtle Dance. (575) 758-1028 or www.taospueblo.com New Year celebration dances take place at many of the pueblos; call for details. A very good resource for information about Pueblo culture and the distinct Pueblos of New Mexico is the website of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center at www.indianpueblo.org. |
Watch for our ZLG Facebook page in January 2014.
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Painters and the American West, Volume 2
American Museum of Western Art: The Anschutz Collection
This newly released book is a companion and sequel to the award-winning volume 1 of the same name from 2000. The new volume features selected works from the first book, but also highlights the new acquisitions to the collection. These include such artists as Alfred Jacob Miller, Charles Deas, William Ranney, Emanuel Leutze, Thomas Eakins, Thomas Anshutz, Henry Farny, N.C. Wyeth, William Herbert "Buck" Dunton, Edward Hopper, and many others.
In 2010, the Anschutz Collection became a public museum called the American Museum of Western Art, based in Denver, Colorado. Its holdings feature works from every major artist who painted in the American West, from the 1820s through mid 20th century.
Painters and the American West includes a foreword by Sarah Anschutz Hunt and essays by various scholars: John Wilmerding provided the
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introductory essay presenting a cultural and literary context for the museum's holdings, James P. Ronda contributed historical essays, while Joan Carpenter Troccoli added in-depth examination of individual works.
Also Newly Released
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher
The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012
Timothy Egan
Timothy Egan's newest book, winner of the Carnegie Medal for best non-fiction book of 2012, brilliantly captures the breadth of Curtis's multiple-decade photographic survey of the North American Indian, detailing both the exhilarating feats and the dangerous perils the photographer and his crew continually confronted.
Hampton Sides wrote of the book: "Tim Egan has deftly captured the man behind the images, revealing a great American adventurer who lived at the fragile, fertile intersection of history, anthropology, and fine art."
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MUSEUM NEWS NATIONWIDE
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
"Go West! Art of the American Frontier from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West"
Through April 13, 2014
This exhibit features more than 250 artworks--painitngs, sculpture, photographs and Native American artifacts--that reflect life in the American West dating from 1830 to 1930. Organized around the themes of independence, innovation and individualism, the exhibit highlights popular ideas and myths that developed about the West.
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
"Thomas Moran's Yellowstone: A Project for the Nation"
Through January 19, 2014
In 1876, Moran published a portfolio titled
The Yellowstone National Park and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. It was the first illustrated publication about the West to be printed in color through the medium of chromolithography and the first time Moran's images were made available to the wider public. The exhibit at Denver Art Museum displays fifteen of these chromolithographs alongside additional watercolors, drawings, and oil paintings.
Boca Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida
"Southwestern Allure: The Art of the Santa Fe Art Colony"
Through December 29, 2013
Southwestern Allure features over 40 paintings from artists who visited and worked in Santa Fe during the formation of the city's original artist colony from 1915 to 1940. Curated by Valerie Ann Leeds, PhD, a specialist in American art . . .
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NEW MEXICO EXHIBITS & EVENTS
SANTA FE
New Mexico Museum of Art
"Renaissance to Goya: prints and drawings from Spain"
December 14 through March 9, 2014
This exhibit, which was organized in collaboration with the British Museum, brings together works that have never before been shown together. Featuring fine examples of prints and drawings from the mid-16th to the early 19th century, it showcases works by renowned Spanish artists as well as other artists who were working in Spain during that period, including Vel�zquez, Zubar�n, Goya and Tiepolo. The New Mexico Museum of Art will be the only museum in the United States to host this exhibit. New Mexico History Museum Ongoing "Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time"
Billed as an exhibit that highlights "the archaeological and historic roots of America's oldest capital city," the exhibit showcases artifacts found in Santa Fe and the surrounding region before and after the arrival of the Spanish. For example, during recent excavations conducted prior to the construction of the History Museum, archaeologists uncovered more than 90,000 artifacts that date to the 17th century, objects that now help to show us how people were living at that time. This current exhibit displays more than 160 artifacts from four historic sites, in addition to maps, documents, household goods, weaponry and religious objects.
ALBUQUERQUE University of New Mexico Art Museum "From Raymond Jonson To Kiki Smith: The UNM Art Museum's Permanent Collection At Fifty Years"
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Thank you for joining us.
Please send us your comments and
stop by the gallery next time you are in Santa Fe.
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