The Art of Passing Through

New Mexico has long been a layover for artists—people who arrive with the intention of staying forever, then quietly disappear like a bad date. They come, they paint, they declare themselves transformed by the light, and then, just as suddenly, they’re back in New York complaining about the lack of decent bagels out West.

Take Marsden Hartley, for instance. He showed up in Taos in 1918, did the whole spiritual-connection-to-the-land thing, and then fled after a year. Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe he couldn’t handle the way the air here makes colors look too bright, like a television with the contrast jacked up. Or maybe it was the realization that while the landscapes were majestic, the grocery stores were mostly stocked with canned green chile and despair.

Then there’s Andrew Dasburg, who actually stuck around, at least long enough to make everyone believe he was serious. He was part of the whole modernist crew in Taos, bringing cubism to the desert, which is a little like teaching a rattlesnake to waltz—an admirable effort, but ultimately, the snake is going to do whatever the hell it wants.

And let’s not forget Stuart Davis. He came through Santa Fe in the 1920s, looked around, and decided, “Hmm, what if New Mexico, but jazz?” His abstract, brightly colored shapes suggest he was either deeply inspired by the landscape or just trying to draw what it felt like to get heatstroke. Either way, he left, taking his syncopated vision with him.

It’s a pattern: They arrive. They swear they’ve never felt more at home. They paint a few mesas, maybe a church or two. And then, inevitably, they’re gone, leaving behind only their work, a few studio rent debts, and an empty stool at the bar where they once held court about real art.

Taos and Santa Fe are used to it. The towns sigh, pick up the pieces, and wait for the next batch of artists to roll in, ready to be changed forever—for a little while, at least.

John Edward Borein (1872-1945)

Sven Birger Sandzen (1871-1954)

Ace Powell (1912-1978)

Agnes C. Sims (1910-1990)

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)

Albert Herman Schmidt (1885-1957)

Albert Lorey Groll (1866-1952)

Alfred Gwynne Morang (1901-1958)

Alice Eliza Cleaver (1870-1944)

Andrew Michael Dasburg (1887-1979)

Anna Elizabeth Keener (1895-1982)

Armin Carl Hansen (1886-1957)

Arthur Earl Haddock (1895-1980)

Astley David Middleton Cooper (1856-1924)

Audley Dean Nicols (1875-1941)

Augustus William Dunbier (1888-1977)

Barbara Latham (1896-1989)

Ben Turner (1912-1966)

Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956)

Bertha Stringer Lee (1869-1937)

Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt (1878-1955)

Byron Wolfe (1904-1973)

Carl E. Woolsey (1902-1965)

Carl Hoerman (1885-1955)

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947)

Carl Redin (1892-1944)

Carl Sammons (1883-1968)

Carl von Hassler (1887-1969)

Carlos Vierra (1876-1937)

Catharine Carter Critcher (1868-1964)

Charles Berninghaus (1905-1988)

Charles Bird King (1785-1862)

Charles Frederick Surendorf (1906-1979)

Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926)

Charles Reynolds (1902-1963)

Conrad Buff (1886-1975)

Cornelius Botke (1887-1954)

Dale Nichols (1904-1995)

Datus Ensign Myers (1879-1960)

Dawson Dawson-Watson (1864-1939)

Doel Reed (1895-1985)

Don Louis Perceval (1908-1979)

Dorothy Eugenie Brett (1883-1976)

Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936)

Edgar Payne (1883-1947)

Edgar Samuel Paxson (1852-1919)

Edith Anne Hamlin (1902-1992)

Elbridge Ayer Burbank (1858-1949)

Elliot Bouton Torrey (1867-1949)

Emil James Bisttram (1895-1976)

Eric Sloane (1905-1985)

Ernest Leonard Blumenschein (1874-1960)

Ernest Martin Hennings (1886-1956)

Ferdinand Burgdorff (1881-1975)

Francisco Zuniga (1912-1998)

Frank Joseph Vavra (1892-1967)

Frank Paul Sauerwein (1871-1910)

Frank Reed Whiteside (1866-1929)

Frank Tenney Johnson (1874-1939)

Frank Tolles Chamberlin (1873-1961)

Fred Harman Jr. (1902-1982)

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)

Frederick O’Hara (1904-1980)

Fremont F. Ellis (1897-1985)

Fritioff Albin Persson (1897-1957)

Fritz Scholder (1937-2005)

Gene Kloss (1903-1996)

George Elbert Burr (1859-1939)

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)

Gerald Cassidy (1879-1934)

Gerard Curtis Delano (1890-1972)

Gunnar Mauritz Widforss (1879-1934)

Gustave Baumann (1881-1971)

Hans Paap (1894-1966)

Harold Buck Weaver (1889-1961)

Harold von Schmidt (1893-1982)

Harry Cassie Best (1863-1936)

Helen Hardin (1943-1984)

Henry Balink (1882-1963)

Henry Francois Farny (1847-1916)

Herman Wendelborg Hansen (1854-1924)

Homer Dean Boss (1882-1956)

Howard Norton Cook (1901-1980)

Ila Mae McAfee (1897-1995)

Jack Dudley (1918-1996)

Jack van Ryder (1899-1968)

James Swinnerton (1875-1974)

Jessie Arms Botke (1883-1971)

Jessie Benton Steese Evans (1866-1954)

Joe Neil Beeler (1931-2006)

John French Sloan (1871-1951)

John James Audubon (1785-1851)

John Marin (1870-1953)

Joseph Amadeus Fleck (1892-1977)

Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953)

Joseph Imhoff (1871-1955)

Joseph Kleitsch (1882-1931)

Joseph Roy Willis (1876-1960)

Jozef Bakos (1891-1977)

Julius Rolshoven (1858-1930)

Kenneth Miller Adams (1897-1966)

LaVerne Nelson Black (1887-1938)

Lawrence Frederic Hosmer (1895-1984)

Lee F. Hersch (1896-1953)

Leola Hall Coggins (1881-1930)

Leon Shulman Gaspard (1882-1964)