Oil Painting titled “Luz Otono (Autumn Light)” by Sam Smith [SOLD]

C4285A-paint.jpg

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Samuel Smith, Southwest Painter
  • Category: Paintings
  • Origin: Western Artists
  • Medium: Oil on Canvas
  • Size:
    15" x 21-1/4” image;
    21-1/2” x 27” framed
  • Item # C4285A
  • SOLD

This classic Southwestern scene, titled “Luz Otono (Autumn Light),” was captured with oil on canvas by Albuquerque artist Sam Smith in 1968.  The subject of this peaceful and beautiful image is a church in the desert. The church itself is well-crafted, with realistic-looking shadows, detailed doors and windows, and proportionately accurate architecture. The large tree positioned in the center of the image, with its thin smattering of yellow and orange leaves, informs the viewer that the image depicts the tail end of the fall season.  Smaller trees positioned near the sides of the image are nearly bare. 

Smith enlivened the image dramatically but accurately, using careful application of strong colors in the areas surrounding the church.  The land surrounding the church is full of life and color, with a variety of strong shades blending together to create a dreamy, abstract depiction of a particularly plant-heavy patch of desert.  The sky is similarly energetic, though in a more subtle way. An enormous, round mass of clouds is positioned in the center of the image, rising up from behind the church. At its center, it’s all white; as it expands outward it becomes pink, purple and gray.  Distant trees—still holding leaves, unlike those in the foreground—reach up into the mass. Smith’s work here is truly excellent.

Artist Signature - Samuel D. Smith, European American ArtistThe painting is signed “Sam Smith” and dated “68” in lower right.  A label on the back of the frame confirms the title. “Frame by Sam Smith ‘68’” is carved into the back of the frame.

Samuel D. Smith (1918-1999) was one of the most accomplished Albuquerque artists during the mid-20th century. He was a friend of Wilson Hurley, who praised his artistic accomplishments.  Smith moved to Albuquerque at the age of 7 years, and was associated with the University of New Mexico art department from 1956 until his retirement as a professor of art in 1984. He studied with artists Randall Davey, Jack Levine, Ben Turner and Carl Von Hassler. 

Smith’s paintings have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Biltmore Galleries in Los Angeles, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, the Fine Arts Galleries at the University of New Mexico and the Roswell Museum and Art Center.  His work can be seen in the permanent collections of the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas, Arlington State College in Texas, the Air Force Art Collection and the New Mexico State Fair Collection. His awards include the 1960 Oil Purchase Prize at the New Mexico State Fair, the Questa Purchase Prize in 1962, the Grand Award Prize at the Artist’s Alpine Holiday Show in 1964 and 1965 and the Grand Award at the Black Canyon Art Exhibition in Hotchkiss, Colorado.


Condition: this Oil Painting titled "Luz Otono (Autumn Light)" by Sam Smith is in excellent condition

Provenance: private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: Masters of Western Art by Mary Nelson

Relative Links: AlbuquerqueBen TurnerCarl Von HasslerWilson HurleyEuro/Latin American Fine Art PaintingsAnglo-Euro (non-Native) AmericanSam Smith

Close up view.


Samuel Smith, Southwest Painter
  • Category: Paintings
  • Origin: Western Artists
  • Medium: Oil on Canvas
  • Size:
    15" x 21-1/4” image;
    21-1/2” x 27” framed
  • Item # C4285A
  • SOLD

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