Gallery of Photos: More on the Santa Fe Art Scene

I'm always taken with the art I find in Santa Fe.  For one thing it seems accessible.  Nicely representational. And regional.  (And since I am enamored of the Southwest, that appeals to me.)

Here are some photos I took during my last trip--February 2018.  The first batch is from the Nedra Matteuci Gallery on Paseo de Peralta. It's in a lovely adobe house with gardens and a large collection of Western and Southwestern art including silver, coral, and beaded jewelry, plus paintings by Hurd, Cassidy, Fechin, Higgins, and O'Keeffe among others many of whom were members of the Taos art colony.  Along with the toad (below), the gallery's gardens feature a wide assortment of sculpture.

"Le Toad" by Dan Ostermiller

Decorated kiva fireplace inside the gallery

On cold days, the gallery's fireplaces can be found to be burning beautifully scented cedar logs.

"San Geronimo--1820 Taos" by Catherine Maziere (sterling silver)

One of two interior doors covered with "milagro" ("miracle") charms

The other, just opposite

Another kiva fireplace

And the following photos are from the New Mexico Museum of Art on West Palace Avenue.

"Cui Bono?" by Gerald Cassidy, ca. 1921

One in a series of interior courtyard paintings by Will Shuster

"View of Santa Fe Plaza in the 1850's" by Gerald Cassidy, ca. 1930

Varqueño and chair by Verne Lucero, ca. 2007

And the following painting depicts the burning of 50-foot-high Old Man Gloom, also called Zozobra, the Spanish word for "anxiety."  This event kicks off the Santa Fe Fiesta each year.  It dates from 1924 when Santa Fe artist and marionette maker, Gustave Baumann, constructed the first Zozobra and, along with his friend, Will Shuster, burned it during that year's fiesta.

"Viva la Fiesta (Zozobra)" by Luis Tapia, 1996

An added note about Gustave Baumann.

Baumann was a world-class multi-color-wood-cut printmaker.  Pomegranate puts out a beautiful annual calendar of his work called "A Small Untroubled World" with woodcut reproductions including scenes of New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, California, and Maine.  I get one of these calendars each year--with a different scene for each month--and never tire of looking at the serene landscapes.

Look him up; he did amazing work.