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The Canyon

Artist (American, 1895 - 1976)
Date1950
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions40 × 25 inches (101.6 × 63.5 cm)
Frame: 45 7/8 × 30 7/8 × 1 3/4 inches (116.5 × 78.4 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LinePurchase of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1987
Object number31.223.1
ClassificationsPaintings
Label TextBisttram brought a modernist viewpoint to the artistic scene in Taos. He absorbed influences from European modernists and Native American art. He joined with other progressive artists to found the Transcendental Painting Group. In The Canyon, he begins with a landscape inspiration, the canyon of the Rio Grande near Taos. He boldly abstracts the forms of the canyon and the river itself to give an emotional intensity to the depiction. His modern style both celebrates and abstracts the iconic Western landscape with its red rock formations.
ProvenanceArtist; by inheritance to his wife Mayrion Bisttram; bequeathed to St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Virginia Von Schlegell, Santa Fe, New Mexico; purchased January 29, 1987 by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art
On View
On view
Canyon Red and Black
Ernest Leonard Blumenschein
1933
Navajo Canyon
Fremont F. Ellis
Cabin in Taos Canyon
Nicolai Fechin
Entering the Canyon
Ernest Martin Hennings
Grand Canyon
Joseph Henry Sharp
The Road into the Canyon
Elmer Page Turner
c. 1928
Rio Grande Canyon
Ernest Leonard Blumenschein
Returning from the Canyon
Ernest Martin Hennings
All's Fine
Will James
1930
Fechin's Horse "Babe"
Nicolai Fechin
Nikki Rupert
Nicolai Fechin
Work Horses
Nicolai Fechin