Signed, annotated 'TAOS', and 'No 15' in pencil. Initialed 'B' in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white, wove paper, with full margins (1 3/4 to 4 1/4 inches) in excellent condition. Image size 12 x 13 3/8 inches (305 x 340 mm); sheet size 15 3/4 x 17 1/2 inches (400 x 445 mm). Printed by master lithographer Lynton Kistler, with his blind stamp in the bottom left margin. Matted to museum standards, unframed.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
In 1938 Emil Bisttram (1895-1976) was one of the founding members of the Transcendental Painting Group in New Mexico. Seeking to emphasize the spiritual in art and its value as a positive force in society, the group's member artists contributed to the early development of non-objective modernism in the Southwestern United States. Bisttram held that the spiritual beliefs of native cultures, like the American Indians, had a link to the divine that had been lost by western religions.
Bisttram was instrumental in the artistic growth of New Mexico throughout his life in Taos. In 1952 he co-founded the Taos Art Association, and in 1959 he won the Grand Prize for painting at the New Mexico State Fair. In 1975 the state honored Bisttram by declaring April 7 (the artist's birthday) 'Emil Bisttram Day', a state holiday.
Bisttram is the recipient of numerous awards and is represented in many major US museums including, Joslyn Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
In 1938 Emil Bisttram (1895-1976) was one of the founding members of the Transcendental Painting Group in New Mexico. Seeking to emphasize the spiritual in art and its value as a positive force in society, the group's member artists contributed to the early development of non-objective modernism in the Southwestern United States. Bisttram held that the spiritual beliefs of native cultures, like the American Indians, had a link to the divine that had been lost by western religions.
Bisttram was instrumental in the artistic growth of New Mexico throughout his life in Taos. In 1952 he co-founded the Taos Art Association, and in 1959 he won the Grand Prize for painting at the New Mexico State Fair. In 1975 the state honored Bisttram by declaring April 7 (the artist's birthday) 'Emil Bisttram Day', a state holiday.
Bisttram is the recipient of numerous awards and is represented in many major US museums including, Joslyn Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art.
