Original Painting “Northern New Mexico Village” [SOLD]

Carl Von Hassler, who moved to Albuquerque in the early 1920s, was known as the “Dean of the Albuquerque Art Colony.” Born in Bremen, Germany, Von Hassler attended the Dusseldorf Art Academy. When he came to the United States, he lived for a while in Greenwich Village in New York and was a member of the famed painters who called themselves the “Greenwich Ash Can Group.”

For a time after moving to Albuquerque, Von Hassler was given room and board at the downtown Franciscan Hotel. He was encouraged to paint at the hotel to lure tourist into staying there.

Von Hassler was very careful to paint what he saw in nature. He never embellished the scene. He once stated that no one could improve on nature and it was the artist’s job to present her as she was. He was as much a naturalist as a painter. He studied every plant he came across so that he could paint it true to its nature. He was a stern disciplinarian to his students and even more so to himself.

Von Hassler was skilled in the use of several paint media. He worked in oil, watercolor, egg tempera, and acid tempera (which he developed). He also painted on canvas, panel and paper. He was versatile in all media and material.

This painting is one of the more complex of his work. Generally, there would be one or two buildings and a tree or two, but here we have six buildings, a couple of trees, and a clear view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. The color palette is vivid, yet subtle and warm. The large adobe building in the right of the painting has been mellowed in color to offset its massiveness, and the green of the tree draws one’s eyes upward, leading to the purples of the mountain.

Von Hassler, more than any other New Mexico landscape artist, captured the true beauty of New Mexico in all his paintings. He did an exceptional job in this one.

Provenance: Exhibited at the “Santa Fe Tribute to Carl Von Hassler” June 2009 at adobe gallery santa fe.