Original Painting “La Bajada Mission” [R]

La Bajada (Spanish for the descent) is now a ghost town based at the foot of the highway from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, where the Santa Fe River re-appears to irrigate a few fields before turning into the Santa Fe Wash which empties into the Rio Grande near Peña Blanca.  This highway grew from the original trail to Mexico.  The village was once a stagecoach stop and small Spanish farm settlement and a part of a Spanish Land Grant given by the King of Spain after the re-conquest.  Only a few houses are left standing now as well as this part of the Mission with its carved cross backed by volcanic hills.

The artist preserved a record of the old Mission before it disappeared back into the dirt from which it was made.  So many of New Mexico's old Catholic Mission buildings have been left to return to the earth because of lack of use or lack of funds.  We owe our thanks to artists who record these buildings before they are completely gone.

Condition:  appears to be in original condition but has not been viewed out of the frame.

Provenance: from the collection of an Albuquerque resident.

Recommended Reading:  to find more about the artist, click on his name on this page and you will be transferred to a short biography.