Mountain Lake (Eagle Nest)

Mountain Lake (Eagle Nest)

1935
Artist
Ernest L. Blumenschein, American, 1874-1960
Born: Pittsburgh, PA
Country
United States, United States
painting
Oil paint on canvas
William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection
2001.458
About the Artist

Ernest Blumenschein (BLOOM-en-shine) was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He traveled west on an assignment for McClure’s magazine in 1897, and visited northern New Mexico a year later, where he was immediately and profoundly inspired. Speaking of the West, Blumenschein said, “I was receiving the first great unforgettable inspiration of my life…I was seeing [nature] for the first time with my own eyes…Everywhere I looked I saw paintings perfectly organized ready for paint.” For two decades, Blumenschein painted in New Mexico every summer, and taught at the Art Student’s League in New York the rest of the year. In 1919 he moved with his family to Taos, devoting himself full time to painting. Along with a man named Bert Phillips, Blumenschein founded the Taos Society of Artists, which was active from 1915–26. The purpose of the Taos Society was to promote, exhibit, and sell its members’ art. It was made up of a group of artists who saw the West as a place of peaceful isolation, and felt a sincere connection to the local landscape, local color, and the mix of Hispanic, Indian, and Anglo people of Taos. A disagreement about including painters who followed modern art trends ultimately brought the Taos Society to an end.

What Inspired It

An avid fisherman, Blumenschein visited Eagle’s Nest Lake many times in the 1920s and 1930s. He appreciated the rhythm and harmony of New Mexico’s colors and land forms and wanted to capture his first impression—what he called a “jolt” from nature—to communicate the power and fullness of his experience of the scene. He created small sketches on-site to remind himself of his original emotional reaction. He would transfer the sketch to canvas, taking great care not to change the proportions, shapes, or angles for fear of losing the power of his first impression. It then took him several months to paint in every detail.

Details

Large Blocks of Color

The picture has four basic layers from bottom to top: land, water, hills, and sky.

Variety in the Water

Within the larger masses, a good deal of variation can be found. Look for the variety of textures, colors, and shapes on the water. These variations give the water a sense of movement.

Outlines

Dark edges help emphasize curvy shapes.

Pattern

Blumenschein used short, visible brushstrokes to create texture, rhythm, and pattern in several places. You can find patterns of both spots and lines in the lower left corner, plus the artist’s tiny initials.

Ducks

A flock of ducks sweeps diagonally across the painting, almost from corner to corner. Up close you can see that some are still swimming, some are just taking off, and some are much farther away than others.

More Resources

Websites

Museum Association of Taos

A consortium of museums in the Taos art community, this site includes a link to the Blumenschein Home and Museum.

Books

Applegate, Frank G. Native Tales of New Mexico. New Jersey: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1932.

A compilation of stories from the people of New Mexico.

Gregg, Andrew K. New Mexico in the 19th Century: A Pictorial History. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1968.

A captivating, visual journey into the heart and culture of the land.

Hassrick, Peter H., and Elizabeth J. Cunningham. In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.

The catalogue for an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum from November 8, 2008—February 8, 2009.

Henning, William T. Jr. Ernest L. Blumenschein Retrospective. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1978.

The artist’s biography and numerous examples of his work.

Keegan, Marcia. New Mexico. Toronto: Roger Boulton Publishing Services, 1984.

A photographic account of the New Mexican environment and its people.

Milner, Clyde A. II. The Oxford History of the American West. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

A comprehensive study of the American West.

Samuels, Harold and Peggy. Techniques of the Artists of the West. New Jersey: The Wellfleet Press, 1990.

Featuring twenty-one painters of the West, this book illustrates each artist’s biography with examples of artworks, focusing on one artwork and analyzing its details and techniques.

Swenson, Mary. Nature: Poems Old and New. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

A collection of poems inspired by or about the natural world.

White, Robert R. The Taos Society of Artists. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.

A description of the school’s foundation, history, purpose and members, including actual minutes from meetings.

Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.

The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.