Peter Hurd
"NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPE" RURAL SCENE
1950's

Name: "NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPE" RURAL SCENE
Brand: Peter Hurd
Price: 3840 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Peter Hurd (1904 - 1984) New Mexico Artist Image Size: 11 x 20 Frame Size: 25 x 33 Medium: Ink Wash Circa 1950s-60s "New Mexico Landscape" Biography Peter Hurd (1904 - 1984) A regionalist painter known for his landscape, figure and genre paintings of New Mexico, Peter Hurd was especially focused on capturing light and atmosphere. His preferred medium was tempera on gesso panel, and many of his works depict the panoramic views he saw from his beloved ranch land as well as the people with whom he was most familiar---Indians, Mexicans, and Caucasians. He was also a muralist and did many lithographs and watercolors. Hurd was born in Roswell, New Mexico on February 22, 1904 as Harold Hurd, Jr. Called Pete from his early days on, he legally changed his name to Peter in his early twenties. In 1921, he enrolled as a student at West Point Military Academy in New York state. Selling a painting to a supervisor, he felt encouraged to become an artist instead of a military career man. In 1924, he enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and also took private lessons from well-known illustrator N.C. Wyeth. In 1929, he began to work in tempera on gesso-prepared panels, which became the medium he most frequently used. He married Wyeth's oldest daughter, Henriette, in 1929, and took his bride to New Mexico, the place of his birth, for an extended honeymoon. They later established their home in the southern part of the state in San Patricio, and Henriette also became a prominent artist. In the mid-1930s, he was a mural painter, completing post-office murals in Big Springs and Dallas, Texas, and in Alamogordo, New Mexico. During World War II, he was a war correspondent and artist for Life magazine, a job in which he used his military background. His special assignment included a bomber base in Britain.

Creator:

Peter Hurd (1904 - 1984, American)

Creation Year:

1950's

Dimensions:

Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 3 in (7.62 cm)

More Editions & Sizes:

Image Size: 11 x 20Price: $3,840

Medium:

Ink

Movement & Style:

American Realist

Period:

1950-1959

Framing:

Frame Included

Framing Options Available

Condition:

Please visit my store front for more mid-century and vintage artwork.

Gallery Location:

San Antonio, TX

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU769312818782

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Peter Hurd

Peter Hurd was born on February 22, 1904. He left his birthplace of Roswell, New Mexico in 1921 after receiving a senatorial appointment to West Point. He left the academy after only two years to pursue a career, not as a soldier but an artist. Hurd sought out N.C. Wyeth in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and studied as his private pupil. Undaunted by Wyeth’s warning that studying under him would be much tougher than attending West Point, Hurd accepted the challenge and studied alongside Wyeth and his children for 10 years. All the Wyeths were quite taken by this handsome, energetic young man in cowboy boots and hat, but none so much as Wyeth’s eldest daughter, Henriette, who married Hurd in 1929. After a decade on the east coast, Hurd longed for his independence and a return to the West. These desires ultimately led the couple, along with their growing family, to San Patricio, New Mexico where they spend the rest of their lives. The landscape of New Mexico inspired Hurd and it was here that he developed his true artistic style. Hurd became celebrated for egg tempera, watercolors and lithographs depicting the New Mexico way of life in the form of landscape and portraits. The rush against time not only challenged Hurd but also led to his creation of field sketches. These sketches were done quickly with watercolor or pen and wash. It was often from his field sketches that Hurd created his detailed tempera and watercolors. Despite his growing popularity as a regional artist, Hurd’s adventurous spirit took him all over the world. His first major excursion took place in the mid-1940s when Hurd left home to serve as an illustrative war correspondent for LIFE Magazine. The resulting wartime works varied from field sketches to fully developed egg tempera and watercolors. Many of these war sketches now hang in the Pentagon. After the war, Hurd traveled to North Africa, Asia and Saudi Arabia, where Hurd befriended and painted King Faisal. These locales made for intriguing works, however, none would bring Hurd as much attention as when he was asked to paint President Johnson’s official portrait. The portrait was notoriously rejected by the president, which generated a great deal of media attention, making Hurd a household name. From his humble beginnings as a Wyeth pupil to his success as a southwest artist, Hurd never lost his commitment to the canvas. Hurd continued to be passionate about his painting career until his death in 1984 but his undying philosophy and legend still live on to this day.