Emil Bisttram (1895-1976)

In 1930, Emil Bisttram visited Taos for the first time, but found he was blocked from painting by the “grandeur of the scenery and the limitless space.” He then chose to go to Mexico to study fresco painting with Diego Rivera, becoming influenced by the strong realism and sculptured surfaces.

One year later, he returned to Taos and founded the Taos School of Art, of which he would remain the director for the rest of his life. Bisttram was an extremely articulate individual, and was as skilled at explaining concepts of composition, drawing and painting as he was at applying those concepts to his own paintings.

Bisttram first came to Taos as a representational painter; however, he began to experiment with non-objective (abstract) forms in his paintings. In 1938 Bisttram, along with Raymond Jonson and several other painters, founded the Transcendental Painting Group in Santa Fe. The aim of the group was to work to bring painting beyond the appearance of the physical world.

** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at Marketing adobegallery.com.