Betty Sabo Original Oil Painting of an Untitled Forest Scene [R]

This original painting was created by notable New Mexico artist Betty Sabo.  Those who are familiar with Sabo’s work will recognize this as a unique offering with an atypical color scheme.  Sabo’s landscapes usually focus on brighter tones, relying heavily on tans, yellows, and whites to depict arid New Mexico.  Here, she moved into darker territory, using a gorgeous blend of green and brown tones to create a deep, mysterious forest scene.

Sabo’s painting focuses on one small section of an expansive forest.  In the foreground, a stream winds past a small section of flat earth, from which two tall trees emerge.  From here, gentle hills begin, rising toward the right side of the image.  Three more trees rise from the nearest of these hills, treating the viewer to long trunks made of an appealing blend of crisp white and shadowed gray.  In the background, things become appropriately blurry as dark green trees and soft, brown earth blend into a dreamy whole. Up above, Sabo used a smattering of beautiful light green tones to form a canopy of leaves, adding a jolt of light and energy to the wonderfully moody image.

The painting is signed Sabo in lower left.  It is framed in a carved wood frame, with a silver textured stain and a fabric interior band.

We had the great fortune of being contacted by Betty's oldest grandson, Dan Sabo, who informed us she painted this scene close to where the family had their cabin in Holy Ghost Canyon above Pecos. 

Betty Sabo (1928 - 2016) was a famous and successful artist who was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  Sabo rose to prominence as an artist while living and working in New Mexico. She majored in art at the University of New Mexico, and studied for five years under German-born painter Carl Von Hassler.  She is best known for her realistic oil paintings of New Mexico and Colorado landscapes, but she also found success and acclaim as a sculptor. Her works received many awards and are included in prominent public and private collections around the country.  Today, she is highly regarded by New Mexico collectors. In 2012, New Mexico governor Susana Martinez declared February 10th to be Betty Sabo Day, in honor of the artist’s considerable accomplishments. Sabo passed away in 2016.

Condition: excellent condition, a few scratches and abrasions on the frame

Provenance: this Betty Sabo Original Oil Painting of an Untitled Forest Scene is from a private New Mexico collection

Recommended Reading: The Art of New Mexico - How the West is One: The Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts by Joseph Traugott

Relative Links: Albuquerque, Carl Von Hassler, sculpture, bronze, Paintings, Betty Jean Sabo