Southwestern Landscape Painting by Walter Bambrook

This original untitled painting was created by New Mexico artist Walter Bambrook. At 19-½ inches by 23-½ inches, it is a comfortable size with a powerful presence. The decision to use this large scale was a wise one, as it afforded Bambrook ample space in which to depict a beautiful moment. Bambrook's respect for the physical beauty of the Southwest is evident in the painting's fine details, but he succeeds on a larger level, too. The painting successfully conveys the feeling of wonder that one might experience in the presence of a dramatic forest scene.

In the foreground, a lively palette of yellow and green tones captures sunlight-touched plants and rocks. Remarkably crisp details appear in the rocks, water, and trees with the focus on the brilliantly yellow Aspen. The depth and richness of these forms invites exploration and doing so is a true pleasure.

The painting is signed Bambrook in lower right. It is framed in an elaborate gold frame.

Walter Bambrook (1910-1984) was a painter who lived and worked in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Albuquerque High School and began his art education at the University of New Mexico (UNM) under the instruction of Ralph Douglas. While at UNM, Bambrook served as a printer's apprentice for the Albuquerque Journal newspaper and began his four-year art training under Carl Von Hassler. After his formal art education was completed, Bambrook taught many private classes and groups at UNM, the Woman's Club, and Heights Community Club.

Bambrook received his first award at the age of thirteen from a national art show at the Chicago Art Institute. During his lifetime, he received many awards from other prestigious institutions, among them the L.O.M. Sweat Memorial Museum in Portland, Maine; the Colorado Springs Museum of Fine Arts; the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the Santa Fe State Museum; the UNM Galleries, and the New Mexico State Fair. His paintings are also found in private collections in England, Italy, Australia, the United States, and Indonesia. Bambrook continued to contribute to the New Mexico art community as the Director of New Mexico State Fair Exhibits, as a member of the New Mexico Artists' Equity, the Professional Albuquerque Artists' Guild, the Taos Art Association, and the New Mexico Art League. Bambrook died on June 1, 1984, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Southwestern Landscape Painting by Walter Bambrook is from the collection of a family from New Mexico

Recommended Reading: Painters in the Valley - A Biographical Dictionary of Albuquerque, New Mexico Area Artists 1880-1990 by Carl A. Hanson

TAGS: Western Art, Walter Bambrook