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Adobe Church, New Mexico, 1940s Modernist Southwestern Landscape Oil Paintingcirca 1940
circa 1940
About the Item
Vintage 1930s - 1940s oil painting of an adobe church in New Mexico with a brilliant blue sky and clouds (likely Rancho de Taos), circa 1940. Painted by Denver modernist, Paul K. Smith (1893-1977), this unsigned work is part of the artist's estate and authenticity is guaranteed. Painted in warm brown and red tones with blue, white, red and yellow. Presented in a custom metal leaf gold frame and hand painted wood mat with anti-reflective glass, outer dimensions measure 26 x 22 x 1. Image size is 17 ½ x 21 ½ inches.
Provenance: Estate of Paul K. Smith
About the Artist:
Paul Kauver Smith studied commercial art and design at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts from 1915-16 with a brief interruption during World War I. After the war, he returned to the School of Fine Arts and went on to the study at Washington University in St. Louis.
In 1921, Smith moved to Colorado to study under John E. Thompson at the Denver Academy of Fine and Applied Arts. Thompson, who is considered to be the pioneer of modernism in Denver, was a strong influence on Smith.
In 1923, Smith was hired by the Academy as an instructor. That same year, his work was accepted for the first time for display at the Denver Art Museum and he was also awarded two solo exhibitions. The museum later added his work to their Anne Evans collection. In 1959, the Denver Art Museum also reproduced one of his paintings titled Houses at Victor for their Western Heritage exhibition catalogue.
Smith became a permanent resident of Denver and was a member of the American Artists Professional League, as well as the Colorado and the Denver Art Guilds. He also joined a Denver group called The Colorado Fifteen. “The Fifteen” came into existence in 1948 as an association of professional artists dedicated to the avant-garde. The group was well known and considered to be an important contribution to Denver's cultural landscape.
- Attributed to:Paul Kauvar Smith (1893 - 1977, American)
- Creation Year:circa 1940
- Dimensions:Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Good vintage condition, Custom frame with archival materials has recently been added.
- Gallery Location:Denver, CO
- Reference Number:
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