In Contemporary Rhythm
The Art of Ernest Blumenschein
On view through February 8, 2009 at the Denver Art Museum.
Ernest Blumenschein paintings fill the ground floor gallery. They begin chronologically and then get big and are organized by themes like Indians, landscapes, trains, scenery and people. All these were made by one guy, said my 9-year-old companion. He live 85 years and so he had a lot of time to make paintings. He started as an illustrator and you can see that the concept of drawing has stayed with the painter who tried to become more impressionistic and more about the natural landscape in New Mexico.
If you spend a lot of time in Santa Fe, these images may seem more ordinary, but skillful. If you were there in 1925, you'd think they were very different. Does it mean Blumenschein was any less important because so many people have copied him?
