Railway art

In the early 20th century, the pueblos of the Southwest offered travelers an intriguing glimpse into the vanishing native cultures of North America. The "Pueblo" segment of the exhibit is rich with visuals of dancing, working and playing. Some of the artists here are Lon Megargee (1883-1960), Benjamin Blessum (1877-1954), Charles H. Harmon (1859-1936), J.W. Norton (1876-1934), Leonard Howard Reedy (1899-1956) and more.

"Santo Domingo Trading Post" by H.H. Betts (1883-1915) manifests the many aspects of trading post life with great assurance. Ferdinand Bergdorf's (1881-1975) "Indian Squaw at Pueblo," besides being flush with light colors, is very modern for the time.

The last section, "Women Artists," demonstrates that Simpson was nondiscriminatory when selecting art for the railway's collection: these paintings all are technically sound and marvelous to experience.

Alice Cleaver (1878-1944), Kate T. Cory (1861-1958), Ila McAfee (1898-1950), Doris Rosenthal (1889-1971) and Nellie Shepherd (1877-1920) are just some of the indomitable women artists who braved the rough country to capture the image that held them captive. "Isleta Indian Maiden" by Blanche Dugan Cole (1868-1956) and "Evening Pueblo of Walpi" by Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (1876-1954) are only two of this section's moving works.

"Southwest Visions" is an engaging and historical exhibit and will undoubtedly bring back memories of the art used by the railways in the first 40 years of the 20th century.

Interested readers may learn more about the exhibit by reading Dean A. Porter's article in the current issue of "American Art Review."

Exhibition is on loan from The Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, N.M.

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E-mail: gag@desnews.com

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