TEXAS, EL PASO: MUSEUM OF ART

 July 3, 2021

We ended our nine-day trip to New Mexico back where we started - in El Paso, Texas, where we had time to visit the El Paso Museum of Art, get some dinner, and get a bird's-eye view of the city.

Art first. 

The museum is located in the heart of downtown. The current location was built in 1998, and I liked it even before we went inside because of this fun mural on the side of the building.

People and animals have a lot in common, don't they?

The museum lobby had this work on one wall. Created by Andrea Bowers in 2019, it refers to the separation of migrant families at the border. The changing colors of the letters suggests the random divisions going on there.

It is hard to do justice to this massive neon fiberglass sculpture of two oxen pulling a plow being guided by an old man. 

Sodbuster by Luis Jiménez (1981)

Head-on view:

 

Close-up of the farmer's arm and the artist's drawing of the hand.

This portrait of Luis Jiménez, the artist of Sodbuster, was painted by the artist's friend and colleague.

De puro corazón by Gaspar Enriquez

It's hard to see in the photo, but these disembodied dresses are made from crime scene tape and evoke gender-based violence.

Persephone by Mary Paz Cervera (2019)

The Border Patrol by Suzanne Klotz (1995-2003) looks like a cross between a totem pole and an altar de muertos, or Mexican Day of the Dead altar.

Each niche is filled with tiny dioramas. The steer head on the left has a sign around its neck that says US/Mexico Gate Keeper. On the right, a monstrous figure labeled "coyote" holds up a truck filled with blankets.

On the left, two super hero figures labeled "Border Patrol" hold skulls in their hands and soar over a wood and wire fence and a fire. On the right is a graveyard that looks like a cake topper.

This cubby has a religious feel to it--a hand punctured by the barbed wire that surrounds it.

The museum has one room of ancient artifacts.  This one, described as "a human effigy vessel," is Greater Mongolian in origin (AD 1200-1450).

I loved these cheerful banners attached to the ceiling in the center of the museum, but it wasn't until working on this post that I realized their significance. The artist, Sam Gilliam, is associated with the Washington Color School, which developed a form of abstract art from color field painting in the 1950s and 1960s. Gilliam is recognized for introducing painted canvases without stretcher bars.

Beyond the Blue Door by Sam Gilliam (2000)

The museum has a fine collection of Southwest and Mesoamerican art. Here are a few of my favorites.

Our Lady of Sorrows, Anonymous (1712)

The Last Supper of St. Francis by Cristóbal de Villalpando (1695)

Christ at the Column, Anonymous (c. 1830)
Wood, leather, and cloth

Note the itty bitty feet and finely detailed clothing on this one. 

St. Michael the Archangel, Anonymous (c. 1690)

One of my favorites in this section is this crucifixion scene painted on metal. The figures stand out in such sharp relief against the textured gold background--except for the man behind Christ. He looks like a giant boulder.

Untitled, Anonymous (19th century)

Another favorite--Pontius Pilate uttering his infamous, ironic words, "Behold the man!"

Ecce Homo by Juan Sánchez Salmerón (1666-1697)

An anonymous carving from about 1800 presents an unusual take on the "crown of thorns."

Would you have guessed that the same artist who created the sculpture of the sodbreaker in the lobby also created this?

Self Potrait with Calavera by Luis Jiménez  (1996)

Moving on to 20th century art, I think this portrait may be my favorite thing in the entire museum. In fact, the gallery this painting hangs in is named after the artist, who influenced many of his contemporaries.

Sarah (Portrait of the Artist's Wife) by Tom Lea (1939)

For example, his work inspired this portrait, which bears striking similarities to the portrait above.

Yolanda by Manuel Acosta (1956)

The next two works are by the eldest daughter of illustrator N. C. Wyeth and sister of Andrew Wyeth.

David Lawrence by Henriette Wyeth (c. 1935)

Young Peter at San Patricio (Peter Wyeth Hurd - the artist's son) 
by Henriette Wyeth (1944-1946)

The painting below depicts the Rio Grande River running between the United States and Mexico at the New Mexico/Arizona border. To me, the artist is pointing out that any boundaries are merely a social construct. This is really one land.

Two Countries, Three States by Russell Rutledge Waterhouse (undated)

No Southwestern art exhibit is complete without at least one Remington (although other prominent Western and Mexican artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, and Diego Rivera were not represented).

The Mystery / A Sign of Friendship by Frederic Remington (1909)

I didn't expect a European Art wing in what had until now seemed to be a regional museum. While the big name artists are missing, the El Paso Museum of Art has a diverse collection that spans more than five centuries and is arranged thematically rather than chronologically.

This Madonna and Child by the Italian painter Emilian Master is from the late 14th or early 15th century. That's one of the uglier versions of the Christ Child that I've seen.

This Christ child in the two-sided painting from 1460-1470 of Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, St. Bartholomew, and Angels by Italian painter Sano di Pietro is slightly better.

Adoration of the Shepherds with St. John the Baptist and St. Bartholomew
by Master of the Osservanza (Italian, c. 1440)

Detail of the nativity scene (in which the manger looks more like a coffin):

Who lays her baby on the dirt?

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Macrino D'Alba
(Italian, c. 1502)

The Adoration of the Shepherds by Giovanni Galizza (Italian, c. 1555-1560)

Isn't this one beautiful? It is so tender.

Ecce Homo by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo  (Spanish, c. 1672-1678)

The Crucifixion by Martino Di Bartolomeo (Italian, c. 1410)

Detail of a swooning Mary:

St. Francis by Vittore Crivelli
(Italian, c. 1490)

The next two photos were placed side-by-side in the gallery. I like the juxtaposition. The first shows Christ holding an orb. He looks not quite human, and his elaborate halo, actually punched into the canvas, looks like a crown.

Christ Blessing by Carlo Crivelli (Italian, c. 1430/1435)

About 250 years later, God the Father is depicted as a much less delicate balding man with a crazy beard. That looks like a bowling ball under his left hand, although I'm guessing it is symbolic of the earth. He appears to be a much more powerful god than the one above.

God the Father Blessing by Lorenzo Garbieri (Italian, c. 1635-1654)

St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve Apostles of Christ. He met a gruesome death in Armenia, where he was captured, skinned alive, and crucified. Here he holds the knife of his martyrdom, but his upward gaze and relaxed pose indicate peace. This is a gorgeous painting, and I'm surprised by the early date.

St. Bartholomew by Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1643)

This painting caught my attention because of the artist, but also because of the incredible lace cuffs and ruffled neckpiece.

Portrait of a Lady by Antony Van Dyck (Flemish, c. 1620-21)

Moving on to the next gallery: Contemporary Art. This is a genre I am learning to appreciate thanks to my artist son.

Frenchman Jean Arp was part of the Dadaists, a European group of artists whose art reflects the horrors of war through satire.

Oiseau-chute (Bird-fall) by Jean Art (French, 1966)

I didn't get the name/artist of this one, but I believe it is by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Russian painter credited as being the pioneer of abstract art.

Next, American portraits. 

If you think you've seen this portrait of George Washington, you probably have. Apparently Gilbert Stuart made approximately 75 copies of this particular painting. They have slight variations, such as background or clothing.

President George Washington
by Gilbert Stuart (c. 1796)

These two beautiful people are John W. Sandford and his wife, Margaret H. Sanford. They don't show up in Wikipedia, which is hard to believe. They look like the 1% of the 19th century, don't they? Thomas Sully painted their portraits in 1830.

This portrait of a working-class girl shows that by the post-World War I era, both painting style and subject had changed.

The Telephone Operater (The Weaver of Public Thought) 
by Gerrit A. Beneker (1921)

The museum had a gallery of Mexican propaganda art that I enjoyed:

Japanese Fascism by Isidoro Ocampo (Mexico, 1939)

Good Neighbors, Good Friends 
by Pablo O'Higgins (Mexico 1944)

A Tribute to Benito Juarez 
by Leopoldo Mendez (Mexico, 1947)

The lithograph gallery had some nice works by Mexican artists.

The Palizada River by Alfredo Zalce (n.d.)

The Last Step by Galo Gelecio (1946)

Untitled by Francisco Dosamantes (Mexican, c. 1950) and Emiliano Zapata, the Great Leader of the Revolutionary Peasant Movement by Ignacio Aguirre (Mexico, 1948)

This was my favorite of the lithographs.

Literacy by Elizabeth Catlett (1956)

On the 2nd floor landing, we encountered one more shiny fiberglass sculpture by the same artist who did the oxen and plow piece I started with. It made a nice bookend to the visit.

Barfly - Statue of Liberty by Luis Jiménez (1969-1974)