Taos, New Mexico

1944

Alma Lavenson

Associated Names
Alma Lavenson

Artist, American, 1897 - 1989

This is a black and white image of a Pueblo-style adobe building. Multiple levels of walls and structures are stacked. The image is taken from a slightly elevated position, focusing on the central arrangement of the adobe walls. The horizon is absent, and the walls occupy the entire frame. Several doors and small windows punctuate the walls, and a ladder leans against the building. Shadows are cast by protruding wooden beams, adding dimensionality and texture. The adobe construction provides a smooth, matte texture to the surfaces. Close to the viewer, a low stone wall creates a boundary, with scattered stones on the ground. The overall monochromatic palette focuses on the textures and interplay of light and shadow, giving a serene and timeless quality to the image.
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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

This is a black-and-white photograph of a rocky landscape with a patch of scrubland stretching out into the distance. Closest to us, on the left side, a tall rocky mountain rises up. Standing on the rocks is a woman with her back to us. She has long, dark, straight hair that falls down her back, and she is wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt and a wide white skirt. In her left hand, she appears to hold a rope, or perhaps her hand is tangled in her long hair. In her right hand, she holds a large square object with a handle that looks like a radio or similar device. She stands behind tall, dark gray leafy plants. On the right, the background reveals a vast open terrain dotted with small shrubs under a light gray sky.

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Alma Lavenson, Piedmont, CA; Susan Ehrens, Oakland, CA, late 1980s; gift to NGA, 2020.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

signed by artist, lower right below image in graphite: Alma Lavenson; by artist, bottom right: 1941; on verso, signed by artist, upper left in black ink on applied Mills College Art Gallery label: [printed in black ink: NUMBER] 30 / [printed in black ink: EXHIBITOR] A. Lavenson; possibly by artist, upper center in graphite on applied artist label: Taos / 1944; by unknown hand, top left in graphite: 4154.42 Taos 1944


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