Original Painting titled “Yellow Iris” by Robert Daughters [SOLD]

“Yellow Iris” is an original watercolor painting by Robert Daughters.  We’ve listed a handful of Daughters’ works over the years, the majority of which were oil paintings.  It is a treat to be able to take a close look at a watercolor from this world-renowned artist, and it is no surprise that it is similarly excellent.  Daughters’ oils are beautiful snapshots of the Southwest seen through a uniquely dramatic lens.  It would be accurate to describe “Yellow Iris” the same way. 

Daughters’ subjects stand up tall, occupying the majority of the image.  Their stems and leaves reach up and spread outward, forming the most grounded and realistic element of the image.  Elsewhere, the scene becomes more expressive.  Yellow petals, with touches of orange and brown adding depth, open up in all directions.  In the background, pale pink turns into bold purple as the viewer’s eye crosses the image from left to right.  These purples and pinks spill down over the ground beneath the flowers, creating balance within the variety of tones used here.  The strength of these colors and the energy of the background are similarly tempered by the gentle delicacy of the watercolors.

The painting is signed R. Daughters in lower left.  It is framed in a thin metal frame under a wide fabric mat.

Robert Daughters (1929-2013) was raised in St. Joseph, Missouri. After graduation from high school and three years in the military, he worked as a Curator of Display at the St. Joseph Museum of Natural History while attending the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design.  During a 1953 visit to Taos, New Mexico, Daughters discovered the beauty of the Southwest. He and his family made their move to Santa Fe in 1970, then to Taos in 1972.  Rather than describe himself as an impressionist or expressionist, Daughters says he is a "composist"—his term for an artist who creates paintings with color harmony, the contrast of light and dark values and, above all, structure. His work is created from photographs, charcoal sketches and small plein air oil studies. The emphasis is on structure, an orderly arrangement of shapes, tones and atmospheric effect.  Daughters received many well-deserved awards and accolades during his career. Today, he is regarded as a significant and influential figure in the world of Southwestern art.

Condition: this Original Painting titled "Yellow Iris" by Robert Daughters is in excellent condition

Recommended Reading: ROBERT DAUGHTERS - After the Formative Years, Munson Publishing, Santa Fe, 2007

Relative Links: Taos New Mexico, Santa Fe, Western Art, Robert Daughters, Western Painter