Peter Hurd on Paper

This summer will be an exciting exhibition season at the Roswell Museum, as Magical and Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd will be opening here on June 15. If you've been missing the works from our collection though, and want to see some Hurds before the summer, have we got an opportunity for you. In anticipation of this summer's retrospective, we've just opened Peter Hurd on Paper. 

Drawn from the permanent collection, this show invites viewers to explore Hurd's studies, drawings, and finished watercolor paintings. Open until August, this show is both a continuation of Magical and Real, and an independent exhibition that can be enjoyed on its own. With more than forty works on view, there is plenty to see and enjoy, so let's take a closer look:

 

 

Peter Hurd (1904-1984) is renowned for his luminous egg tempera paintings that capture New Mexico's distinctive light, ecology, and multicultural history. Yet he also created a substantial body of works on paper through his use of watercolor, drawing, and lithography. He experimented with watercolor as early as the 1920s, and regularly prepared for his finished paintings with studies drawn in pen and ink or charcoal.

The Evening Star, 1945, watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

A Tree on the Plains, 1950-1955, watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Portrait of a Rodeo Hand, 1933, pen and ink wash on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

During the 1930s and 1940s, he also ventured into lithography, creating portraits and genre scenes that capture life in both New Mexico and Pennsylvania, where he had studied with illustrator NC Wyeth. He printed these works in partnership with Theodore Cuno, a professional lithographer who peinrws editions for artists such as Louis Lozowick and Jerry Bywaters.

Consuelo Martinez, 1935, lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

As an artist-correspondent for Life magazine during World War II, Hurd employed watercolor as an alternative to egg tempera. While he had used egg tempera for his first assignment in England, his second project, a multinational tour covering the Air Transport Command for the US Army Air Forces, demanded a more portable medium. In response to this need, Hurd began painting in watercolor under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, Andrew Wyeth. During his actual assignment, he illustrated several sketchbooks documenting his observations in such places as Puerto Rico, Brazil, and India.

Este Hermanita de Ponce, ca. 1944, pen and ink wash on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center. This small drawing was done in Puerto Rico, and most likely depicts a member of the Daughters of Charity.

After the war, Hurd continued using watercolor for both sketches and finished paintings, often combining it with pen and ink. He appreciated the spontaneity that watercolor permitted in comparison to egg tempera, and alternated between the two media to bring greater variety to his artistic practice.

Untitled (Hondo Valley Landscape), n.d., watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Untitled (New Mexico Spring Landscape with Flowering Trees), 1957, watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

In addition to his landscape painting, Hurd was also an accomplished portraitist. He preferred to work from direct observation, with some sittings taking up to several weeks to complete. While many of his later portraits were done on commission, early in his career Hurd sketched neighbors and ranch hands to build up his portfolio. During the 1930s and 1940s he also worked in lithography, and often completed black-and-white preparatory drawings that enabled him to work out each composition before committing it to stone.

Portrait of Chapo, 1936. pen and ink wash on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

The portrait studies in this exhibition were done at different points in Hurd's career. The black-and-white drawings on view date from the 1930s, and may have been studies for unrealized lithographs.

Valley Neighbor, after 1930, pen and ink wash, charcoal on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

The second group of works all relate to a single commission, Portrait of Merrill Ford. Painted in 1962, this portrait was done later in Hurd's career, after he had achieved critical acclaim as an artist. Ford was a family friend of Hurd and Wyeth; her father commissioned the portrait. Hurd had Ford choose her own background, and drove her around San Patricio until she found a spot she liked.

Portrait of Merrill Ford, 1962, egg tempera on panel. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Study for Portrait of Merrill Ford, 1962, egg tempera on panel. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Among my favorite works in the exhibition are Hurd's landscape studies. Throughout his career, Hurd created numerous landscape sketches outdoors, or en plein air, in order to record different light and atmospheric effects. He loved New Mexico's distinctive environment, and endeavored to accurately capture its visual power in all different weather conditions. Working in watercolor, pen and ink wash, or both, he often completed these studies around his home at Sentinel Ranch, or while conducting business trips in the Southwest.

A Lake-Chihuahua, n.d., watercolor, pen and ink on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Many of these sketches became the basis for larger egg tempera paintings, which Hurd completed in his studio. Others were done strictly for their own enjoyment, or for the challenge of depicting unusual weather conditions. In comparison to Hurd's finished paintings, these studies offer an intimate, gestural foil to his more formal egg tempera paintings, with the artist using washes and energetic linework to create quick impressions of his observations.

Railway Station, 1933, pen and ink wash, opaque watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

These studies are informal in not only style, but also materials. Several of the works have been drawn on unconventional surfaces, such as the backs of advertising cards, emphasizing their informal nature. As an artist, Hurd was committed to drawing throughout his career, and made use of the materials that were available to him when he didn't have his sketchbook on hand.

Study for a Plains Ranch, n.d., pen and ink wash on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Back side of Plains Ranch study. The Literary Guild offers discounted current editions of books to members.

This exhibition was a lot of fun to work on, and I'm excited to have it on view. I've enjoyed these works on paper for a long time, and have been keen to mount an exhibition with them. As someone who sketches and paints myself, I appreciate being able to glimpse Hurd's creative process through these works, and I hope visitors will have a similar experience.

I also want to commend our prep team for all the hard work they did on this show. Our Preparator had to cut brand-new mats for most of the works on view, and our Registrar assisted with all of the logistics, from condition-checking to framing. The exhibition team also participated in the final layout, so the arrangement you'll see in the galleries reflects input from the entire department. I've said it before, but exhibitions are always a team effort, so I just want to thank my fellow team members for helping me get these beautiful works out for everyone to enjoy.

Study of Cumulus, n.d., watercolor on paper. Image courtesy of Roswell Museum and Art Center.

Peter Hurd on Paper will be on view through August 12, so if you have a chance to stop by, be sure to check out these works. If you love the art of Peter Hurd, works on paper, New Mexico landscapes, or all of the above, this show is for you.