Albert Lujan Original Painting of Taos Pueblo and Landscape [SOLD]

This original painting was created by Taos Pueblo artist Albert Lujan. As far as subject matter and format go, this is the typical style we'd expect from Lujan-a postcard-sized depiction of Taos Pueblo, completed in oil paints on a small board. A cluster of buildings appears across the center of the image, and a single horno oven sits on the dry earth. Ladders rest against the edges of the buildings.

Lujan varied a bit from his norm while creating the landscape in the background. In this piece it's soft and wispy, with gentle blue hills rising into a serene sky. Lujan's landscapes are usually a bit more severe, which is not inaccurate, as the mountains around Taos are noticeably steep and strong in color. Touches of a cool sea-green appear in the sky in this piece, further suggesting that Lujan might have incorporated his own visions into this image.

The painting is signed Taos, N Mex, Albert Lujan in lower right. It is mounted with its edges exposed over a fabric backing, under glass in a gold frame.

Albert Lujan (1892-1948) Weasel Arrow was an early Taos Pueblo painter. Lujan was ahead of his time in painting European-American style art rather than the Santa Fe Indian School style being practiced by most of the other Native American artists of his time. He, along with Albert Looking Elk Martinez and Juan Mirabal, was greatly influenced by the Anglo Taos artists of the time. The work of all three artists was shunned by collectors and the Museum of New Mexico Fine Art Gallery because it was too much like that which the Taos and Santa Fe artists produced. Today, however, collectors and museums have a great appreciation for works by the "Three Taos Pueblo Painters." Lujan, who was also a farmer and minister, never received any formal artistic training. He began painting around 1915, which would place him among the earliest known pueblo painters. He specialized in painting the multi-storied buildings at the pueblo, usually devoid of people. Typically, these views included one of the main pueblo houses or an isolated adobe residence, each framed by beehive ovens, majestic mountains, a beautiful blue sky, and, occasionally, a ristra of chile. Lujan passed away in 1948; his works are highly collectible today.

Condition: good condition, minor abrasion around edges

Provenance: this Albert Lujan Original Painting of Taos Pueblo and Landscape is from a private East Coast collection

Recommended Reading:  For a compelling and comprehensive overview of the life and artwork of Albert Lujan please see Albert Lujan: Entrepreneurial Pueblo Painter of Tourist Art (1892 - 1948) by Bradley F. Taylor, American Indian Art Magazine, Volume 25, Number 4, Autumn 2000, page 56.

TAGS: Painting, Taos Pueblo, Santa Fe, Albert Looking Elk Martinez, Juan Mirabal