Original Painting of Taos Pueblo New Mexico by Albert Lujan [SOLD]

This painting is an excellent example of Taos Pueblo artist Albert Lujan’s work.  Those who are familiar with Lujan will recognize that this piece is typical, at least as far as subject matter goes.  It’s a depiction of Taos Pueblo.  What’s notable about this one is the precision with which it was created.  Lujan’s work here feels particularly strong, resulting in a painting that has quite a presence despite being relatively small.

Lujan turned his eye to a multi-story cluster of buildings for this piece. The cluster of adobe structures grows taller as it extends away from the viewer.  In the foreground, sunlight covers dry earth and a pair of horno ovens. Just past the adobe structures, a burst of yellow and green creates autumn leaves.  Further into the distance, the steep mountains that surround Taos appear as jagged black and gray forms.  Lujan painted his pueblo countless times during his career, but this piece stands out as an incredibly appealing example.

The painting is signed Albert Lujan in lower right.  It has recently been reframed in a high-quality carved frame with gold stain.

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 chili. Lujan passed away in 1948; his works are highly collectible today.

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Original Painting of Taos Pueblo New Mexico by Albert Lujan is one of eleven paintings we recently acquired that were collected by Mary Louise Mark (1878-1972) of Westerville, Ohio, who was a Professor of Sociology and Statistics at Ohio State University.

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.