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According to Mary N. Balcomb, “Taos in 1926 was a quiet, sleepy village inhabited predominantly by Native and Spanish-Americans. The former came from outlying areas as well, traveling by buckboard (later these were equipped with rubber automobile tires) to trade or replenish their supplies; or they came on foot, their women heavy with layers of clothing, feet swathed in white buckskin boots. Burros, too, laden with wood, ambled or were guided through the narrow earthern streets. The houses, of above, seemed to have grown randomly and in clusters from the landscape.

“It was not a voluntary move for Nicolai Fechin but he was in poor health and he needed dry, clean air. ... The Taos landscape immediately appealed to Fechin. The city had always depressed and overwhelmed him; here he felt an unusual closeness to the earth. In fact, the whole atmosphere was congenial: abundant sunshine, peaceful, majestic mountains, nourishing rivers and streams, cattle grazing, burros in corrals, and earthy houses nestled among the fragrant piñon, cedar, and sagebrush – it was conducive to good health and productivity.”

VERSO:
Titled, signed and [inventory] No. 18
Label, Kennedy Galleries

LITERATURE:
Mary N. Balcomb, Nicolai Fechin (Flagstaff, arizona: northland Press, 1975), page 85, illustrated

Condition ReportSurface condition very good, few minor hairline cracks near corners, no restoration.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.