106

In The Legendary Artists of Taos, Mary Carroll Nelson wrote, “Taos vitally affected Ufer’s academic approach to painting. He lightened his palette in response to the brilliance of Taos skies, and he moved out into the landscape with his easel. Ufer traveled around Taos in his car as he searched for his compositions in nature itself. He was a disciple of Dynamic Symmetry, a compositional theory popular at the time, but he did not impose its principles on his subjects. Instead, he found his own dynamic compositional structure. Often he chose circular directional lines within a scene and then painted the scene as he saw it.

“Ufer was sparing in his use of details, usually reserving them for the immediate foreground. However, he painted true portraits of his models within the landscape motif, carrying on the skill he had become known for in his Chicago days. Such accuracy in the models’ faces gives the impression of detail, but actually comes from his precise, accurate drawing with the brush, despite the overall broadness of his style. He was a deft, sure painter.”

PROVENANCE
W. W. McAdoo, Litchfield, AZ, by 1980
Private Collection

LITERATURE
Patricia Janis Broder, Taos: A Painter’s Dream (Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), page 237, illustrated halftone

Condition ReportSurface condition excellent. Small spots of inpainting in the upper right and upper left corners at edge of frame. Six specks of inpainting in the upper left quadrant, 1/4” diameter spot to the left of the horse’s head, 3 1/4” vertical lines above the left horse’s head, 3/8” diameter spot below the left horse’s head, and 1/4” diameter spot bottom center. Canvas has been lined.

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.