Stuart Walker: Modernist Master Revealed

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MODERNIST MASTER REVEALEDA RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBIT ION

213 East Marcy Street | Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

T. 505 995 9779 F. 505 995 9780 E. [email protected]

www.apfineart.com

14 AUGUST –17 OCTOBER 2009

for my muses NINA, NATALIA RHU & SACHI KOH

Figure 1.UNTITLED (ILLUSTRATED MAP OF NEW MEXICO)

1939Mixed media on paper251/2 x 211/4 inches

Signed and dated lower right: Stuart Walker / 3-12-39

Collection:The Stuart Walker Family Collection

Notes:Study for mural (not completed), possibly for the old Albuquerque airport.

Figure 2.UNTITLED (NORTHERN NEWMEXICO VILLAGE IN WINTER)

Circa 1930Watercolor on paper133/4 x 193/4 inches

Signed lower right: Stuart Walker


S T U A R T WA L K E R M O D E R N I S T M A S T E R R E V E A L E DA R E T R O S P E C T I V E E X H I B I T I O N

When I first met with the grandchildren of Stuart Walker and was able to look at all of the work in

this exhibition, it was one of the great experiences of my twenty years as a dealer of American

modernism. I had only seen a couple of his works firsthand, but had long admired paintings I had

seen in books the way a child admires a picture of a unicorn. I had figured that it was enough to

know that they were beautiful and did exist, although I never expected to see one. I also immediately

understood why the family had held onto the work for so long.

As I looked at all of the work, from the early watercolors and drawings to the masterful

Transcendental paintings he did at the very end of his life, the whole story of an artist I knew only

from a handful of images began to unfold before my eyes. For me, discovering these paintings was

very much like meeting a good, lifelong friend for the first time. The reaction is immediate. You know

very little about them, but immediately know that you have made a connection. I didn’t know what

to expect when I first saw the work, but when I saw it all together, it all made perfect sense and

Figure 3.UNTITLED (SUNLIT ADOBES)

Circa 1930-35Watercolor on paper15 x 21 inches


created a chorus of color and line and form, as perfect as a symphony, a progression as original and

magnificent as the music that inspired Walker himself.

In the paintings in this exhibition, we observe the influence of his musical background in

Movement (Figure 32), the radiant abstraction of O’Keeffe in Untitled Abstraction (Figure 28), and

there is an architectural dynamism which emerges from compositions No. 59 (Figure 25) and No. 9A

(Figure 31). The Art Deco age was a big influence on Walker, and his best works are distinguished by

this sensibility. He peaked as he painted with arguably one of the most talented and original groups

of modernist painters, the Transcendental Painting Group, right at the very end of his life. Walker was

part of a large community of artists, and he quickly absorbed the art he saw around him. And yet,

from the very beginning, he had his own style and vision and a sense of color and line and shadow

that makes his work instantly recognizable.

This exhibition covers the works done upon his arrival in Albuquerque in 1925, to his death 15

years later. It is the first exhibition of work dedicated to Stuart Walker since the memorial

exhibitions of 1940.

It was almost 40 years after his death that any of Stu’s works began to emerge. All of the works

given to the Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico by the family were sold and then quickly

Figure 4.TAOS MOUNTAIN

Circa 1930-35Watercolor on paper15 x 21 inches



Figure 5.CORDOVA CHURCH


Inscribed: Verso:Cordova Church

disappeared into private collections across the country. Fortunately, these artworks were subsequently

included in major exhibitions of the Transcendental Painting Group and in other exhibitions related

to the history of abstraction in American art. For the first time, they are illustrated in color! And

included in beautiful catalogues, lauded and circled in prose.

I would like to give a very special thank you to my colleague, Melissa Trujillo. Melissa spent long

hours in the archives of the Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico, and in the library of the

New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, as well as calling many museums and institutions to piece

together the exhibition history and chronology we have put together for this catalogue. She did

tireless research to clarify titles, exhibition dates and locations, etc. We are now able to get a better

sense of where Walker exhibited, and which paintings were studies for completed oils. Thank you for

always matching your endeavor with great enthusiasm for the task.

I would also like to thank the Walker family for their enthusiasm, support and willingness to

share their legacy with me and, ultimately, with you all.

We are very pleased to be a part of bringing these works and Stu’s story to a larger community.

We hope you enjoy this catalogue and exhibition.

Aaron Payne

Santa Fe, New Mexico

August 2009

Figure 6.MARTINEZ TOWN

1937Oil on masonite18 x 24 inches

Signed lower left: Stuart Walker

Inscribed: Verso:“Martinez Town” / by Stuart Walker /Series 84 No. 1 37

Notes:This artwork is listed as being painted in December, 1937 in the inventory ofWalker’s paintings compiled by fellowTPG member Ed Garman in 1940.

Figure 7.VALLEY FARM

Circa 1935Oil on linen24 x 30 inches


Inscribed: Stretcher:Stuart Walker “Valley Farm” $100

Inscribed: Label on verso: The Art Institute of ChicagoAmerican Paintings & SculptureForty-Sixth Annual ExhibitionStuart Walker / 304 S. Dartmouth, Albuquerque, NM / Valley Farms / $100

Notes:This painting was exhibited in 1935.

Figure 8.EARLY SNOW (FENTON HILL, JEMEZ MOUNTAINS)

Circa 1935Oil on canvas32 x 381/4 inches


Inscribed: Verso:Stuart Walker / No. 2 B-FERA-1-F3-63

Inscribed: Stretcher:No. 3

Inscribed: Frame:Early Snow

Notes: This painting was done for FERA (theFederal Emergency Relief Administra-tion), which existed from May of 1933 to December of 1935. FERA providedvarious employment opportunities andeconomic relief for many and was latertaken over by the WPA (Works ProgressAdministration) which began in 1935.

Figure 9. MOUNTAIN RANCHO

1935Oil on linen32 x 371/2 inches

Signed lower left:Stuart Walker

Inscribed: Verso:Stuart Walker / FERA-1-F3-63 / 1935

Inscribed: Stretcher:150.00 No. 2 Mountain Rancho

Notes:This painting was done for FERA (theFederal Emergency Relief Administra-tion), which existed from May of 1933 to December of 1935. FERA providedvarious employment opportunities andeconomic relief for many and was latertaken over by the WPA (Works ProgressAdministration) which began in 1935.

Figure 10. UNTITLED (COMPOUND GATE WITH CROSS)

Watercolor on paper83/4 x 113/4 inches


Figure 11.STUDY FOR “MOUNTAIN RANCHO”



Figure 12.UNTITLED (CORDOVA CHURCH WITH FIGURE)

1933Watercolor on paper14 x 20 inches

Signed and dated lower right: Stuart Walker / 33

Figure 13. UNTITLED (ABSTRACTION OFADOBES, TREES AND HILLS)

Circa 1932-33Watercolor on paper61/4 x 81/2 inches



Figure 14.NO. 7 S 28

Circa 1935Watercolor on paper15 x 21 inches


Inscribed: Verso:No. 7 S 28

Figure 15.NO. 28 FLOWER FORMS (DAFFODILS)

1938Oil on canvas mounted on plywood12 x 10 inches

Signed bottom center: Walker

Inscribed: Verso:No. 28 / Flower Forms / $40

Figure 16.NO. 27 FLOWER FORMS (DAFFODILS)

1938Oil on canvas mounted on plywood141/2 x 111/2 inches

Signed bottom center: Stuart Walker

Inscribed: Verso:No. 27 / Flower Forms / $50

Figure 17. NO. 26 FLOWER FORMS (TULIPS)

1938Oil on canvas mounted on plywood101/8 x 12 inches

Inscribed: Verso:No. 26 / $40

Flower Forms T-1 / Series 04 #10-8

Figure 18. NO. 25 FLOWER FORMS T-2 (TULIPS)

1938Oil on canvas mounted on plywood15 x 10 inches

Inscribed: Verso:No. 25 / $50

Stuart Walker / 304 South Dartmouth / Albuquerque / “Flower Forms T-2” / Series 04, #11-8

Notes:Records document this work was painted in March, 1938.

Figure 19. UNTITLED (ABSTRACT OF ADOBE ON HILL)




Figure 20. UNTITLED (ABSTRACT OF RANCHOS DE TAOS CHURCH)




Figure 21. K

1932Watercolor on paper63/4 x 113/4 inches


Inscribed: Verso:WC K

Figure 22.UNTITLED

1933Watercolor on paper193/4 x 133/4 inches (sight)

Signed and dated lower right:Stuart Walker / 1933

Figure 23.E

Circa 1933Watercolor on paper18 x 14 inches


Inscribed: Verso:W.C. E

Figure 24.COMPOSITION N

1935Oil on linen301/4 x 241/8 inches


Inscribed: Verso:Stuart Walker / Composition N

Inscribed: Stretcher:1935 / 1st n.o.

Notes:This work is noted in the Stuart Walker archives as being his first non-objective oil painting. It is also noted by the artist on the stretcher bar.

Figure 25. COMPOSITION NO. 59

1939Oil on linen361/8 x 26 inches

Signed lower left with monogram:SW

Inscribed: Verso:Composition # 59 / Stuart Walker / 1939 / -3-

Notes:Records document this work was painted in March, 1939.

Figure 26. NO. 22

Circa 1939Watercolor and pencil on paper95/8 x 67/8 inches

Inscribed: Verso:No. 22

Figure 27. NO. 21 (STUDY FOR

“COMPOSITION NO. 65”)

1939Watercolor and pencil on paper95/8 x 67/8 inches

Inscribed: Verso:No. 21 Unfinished Study for Composition No. 65 Sept. 1939

Figure 28.UNTITLED ABSTRACTION

Circa 1938Oil on canvas353/4 x 295/8 inches

Inscribed: Verso:Stuart Walker

Notes:Also inscribed with TranscendentalPainting Group logo, verso.

Collection:The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Museum purchase madepossible by the Earl W. Stroh Trust

Figure 29. UNTITLED


Notes:This watercolor is a study for Untitled Abstraction (Fig. 28).

Figure 30. UNTITLED



Figure 31. COMPOSITION NO. 9A

1938Oil on canvas233/4 x 193/4 inches


Inscribed: Verso:Composition / #9A / Stuart Walker / 1938 / -9-

Inscribed: Stretcher:Stuart Walker

Notes:Also inscribed with TranscendentalPainting Group logo, verso.

Records document this work waspainted in September, 1938.

Figure 32. MOVEMENT

Circa 1936-39Oil on canvas mounted on plywood221/8 x 241/8 inches

Inscribed: Verso:Movement / $100

Figure 33.NO. 32 (STUDY FOR


Circa 1936-39Watercolor on paper91/4 x 6 inches

Signed lower left with monogram: SW

Inscribed: Verso:No. 32 / #702

Figure 34.NO. 26

Circa 1936-39Mixed media on paper91/4 x 61/4 inches


Figure 35. NO. 23 (STUDY FOR




Notes:“Composition No. 61” is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum,Washington, DC.

Figure 36.NO. 24

Circa 1936-39Watercolor on paper9 x 61/2 inches

Inscribed: Verso:No. 24 / Study for Completed Oil

Figure 37.NO. 29



Figure 38.NO. 40





Figure 39. UNTITLED



Inscribed: Label on verso:Jonson Gallery Stuart Walker / Untitled, c. 1936-39 /Courtesy of the Stuart Walker Family

Figure 40. NO. 30


Figure 41. UNTITLED

Circa 1936-39Watercolor on paper7 x 87/8 inches



Figure 42. UNTITLED



C H R O N O L O G Y1 9 0 4 – 1 9 4 0

1904 Born February 25 in Paint Lick, Kentucky to Maude and Toll Walker. (The Walkers of Kentucky were foxhound and fox hunting enthusiasts. They ‘developed’ the Walker Hound, a well known hunting breed.)

Family moves to Indiana.

1919 Joins the Navy at age 15. Lies about his age to enlist.

1920 Becomes ill with a strep infection, which turns into rheumatic fever and weakens his heart.He is discharged from the United States Navy.

1922/1923 Studies at the John Herron Institute in Indianapolis.

Studies with illustrator Frank Schoonover in Wilmington, Delaware.

1924/1925 Moves to Albuquerque.

1925 Attends art classes at the University of New Mexico.

circa 1929 Operates a commercial art studio (WALLIS Studio) with fellow artist Brooks Willis.

Becomes president of Art League of New Mexico and provides design work for the league’s projects.

Plays drums in dance band, the “Collegians.”

Paints a mural with fellow artist Brooks Willis at the Nob Hill Drugstore in Albuquerque.

circa 1931 Marries Elizabeth Lee Adams.

William Lumpkins builds Walker an art studio in back of his home at 304 S. Dartmouth.

1932 Daughter Janet, born October 23.

1933/1934 Produces sketches and paintings for Public Works Art Project.

Joins Willis again in completing a mural for the Bernalillo County Courthouse.

1934 Son James (Jimmy), born October 24.

1935 Completes first non-objective painting, Composition N.

1938 Joins Transcendental Painting Group as a founding member.

1939 Walker is hospitalized May 30 and released from hospital in July/August.

1940 Thursday, January 18 – Dies in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Figure 43. MOUNTAIN HOUSES

Circa 1933Lithographic crayon on paper71/4 x 63/4 inches

Inscribed: Verso:Mountain Houses

Figure 44. A BOOK OF HOME PLANS FOR ALBUQUERQUE

193073/4 x 101/2 inches

Notes:Book contains 32 pages


Figure 45. SELF PORTRAIT

1936Oil on masonite24 x 18 inches


Inscribed: Verso:No. 14 / Stuart Walker / April / 1936Self Portrait


P H O T O S

Right STUART WALKER, 1927

Far Right “SHORTY” GERE’S COLLEGIANS

STU WALKER (BACK LEFT), WITH FELLOW BAND MEMBERS, 1929

Below STU AND LEE, 1927

Facing page, left STUART WALKER AND DAUGHTER,JANET, ALBUQUERQUE, NM, 1933

Facing page, right STU WALKER WITH HIS CHILDREN, JIMMY AND JANET, JEMEZ, NM, 1936

Facing page, below left STUART, LEE & CHILDREN (CENTER)WITH WALKER FAMILY, INDIANA

Facing page, below right STUART & LEE WALKER WITH LEE’S EXTENDED FAMILY, ALBUQUERQUE

Photos courtesy of the Stuart Walker family

N O T E S

Most of what we were able to discover aboutthe body of Walker’s oeuvre comes from manysources: archival records from the JonsonGallery, records from the New Mexico Museumof Fine Art, Santa Fe, correspondence kept byfamily members and countless newspaper clippings and references to numerous exhibi-tions Walker participated in as an artist.

Most notable, however, is the inventory ofWalker’s paintings made on February 1st of1940, a couple of weeks after his death, by Raymond Jonson and his widow, Lee Walker.Also the “Catalog of Non-RepresentativeWorks by Stuart Walker” compiled by fellowTranscendental Painting Group member, EdGarman, proved to be a valuable resource.

We learned that Walker divided his work intoseries, although it is still unclear how the worksin a particular series relate, or how the serieswere ordered.

It is also difficult to decipher how Walker titledhis paintings. The titles were anonymous andattempted to mask any reference to the objectiveworld. In one letter to Dane Rudhyar, RaymondJonson writes that he catalogued only 24 ab-stract oils in his inventory after Stu’s untimelydeath, and yet there are oils numbering as highas No. 65. And some are not numbered at all.

There are also abstract watercolors numberedverso from 20 to 42 which are watercolor studiesfor oil compositions, although it is still not entirely clear which of these oils were completed.

Much of Walker’s personal and professionallife remain a mystery. This does not diminishthe beauty of his art, or their immediate andlong lasting impression on us.

In his tribute to Walker on the occasion of hismemorial exhibition in February of 1940, hisdear friend Raymond Jonson reminds us thathis artwork “presents to us a vista of what wecould hope to be spiritually and ideally...”

NOVEMBER 14, 1997 – JANUARY 18, 1998 Vision and Spirit,The Transcendental Painting Group, Harwood Museum,Taos, New Mexico

MAY 27 – AUGUST 15, 1997 Vision and Spirit, The Transcen-dental Painting Group, Jonson Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

OCTOBER 3 – NOVEMBER 29, 1992 The Second Wave: American Abstraction of the 1930’s and 1940’s, Selectionsfrom the Penny and Elton Yasuna Collection, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware

FEBRUARY 23 – APRIL 12, 1992 The Second Wave: AmericanAbstraction of the 1930’s and 1940’s, Selections from thePenny and Elton Yasuna Collection, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville,Florida

SEPTEMBER 12 – DECEMBER 1, 1991 The Second Wave:American Abstraction of the 1930’s and 1940’s, Selectionsfrom the Penny and Elton Yasuna Collection, WorcesterArt Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts

SEPTEMBER 8, 1989 – FEBRUARY 11, 1990 The Patricia andPhillip Frost Collection, American Abstraction 1930-1945,National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

JUNE 6 – SEPTEMBER 12, 1982 The Transcendental PaintingGroup, New Mexico 1938-1941, Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico

OCTOBER 12 – NOVEMBER 7, 1975 Jonson Gallery, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

APRIL 9, 1969 Dorothea Whitcraft Memorial Exhibition,Museum of Albuquerque, Albuquerque, New Mexico

APRIL 30 – MAY 26, 1967 Paintings (1935-1939) In The Gallery Collection By Stuart Walker, Albuquerque’s First Nonrepresentational Paintings, Jonson Gallery, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

FEBRUARY 1 – 28, 1950 Group Show, Jonson Gallery, TheUniversity of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

MARCH 16 – MARCH 31, 1946 A Loan Exhibition From theCollection of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Jonson, Presented by The Art League of New Mexico, Art Gallery, Museumof New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

NOVEMBER 28, 1945 – JANUARY 3, 1946 A Loan ExhibitionFrom the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Jonson,Presented by The Art League of New Mexico, Fine ArtsBuilding Gallery, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

1941 Faulkner Memorial Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, California

1940 Transcendental Painting Group Exhibition, GuggenheimMuseum, New York, New York

FEBRUARY 15 – 23, 1940 Retrospective Exhibition of the Workof Stuart Walker, Fine Arts Building of The University ofNew Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

OCTOBER 17 – NOVEMBER 1, 1940 Memorial Exhibition,Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe

1939 Transcendental Painting Group, Golden Gate International Exhibition, San Francisco, California

1939 Woman’s Club, Albuquerque, New Mexico

WINTER 1939 Albuquerque Artist’s Show, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

APRIL 18 – JUNE 14, 1939 Transcendental Painting Group,Fine Arts Festival, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

MAY 1939 Transcendental Painting Group, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

APRIL 1939 New York World’s Fair, New York, New York

1938 Fiesta Show, Albuquerque, New Mexico

1938 Southwestern Art, Seattle

1938 Albuquerque Art League Show, Albuquerque, New Mexico

SEPTEMBER 1 – 30, 1938 Twenty-fifth Annual Exhibition of Painters & Sculptors of the Southwest, School of American Research, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe,New Mexico

JUNE 1938 Transcendental Painting Group, Museum of NewMexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

APRIL 1938 Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico


SEPTEMBER 1937 Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition 1917-1937, School of American Research, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico


1936 Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado

1935 Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado

1935 Southwestern Artists, Albuquerque Art League, Albuquerque, New Mexico

OCTOBER 24 – DECEMBER 8, 1935 American Paintings &Sculpture, Forty-Sixth Annual Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

SEPTEMBER 1 – 30, 1935 Twenty-Second Annual Exhibition of Painters and Sculptors of the Southwest, Art Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico, School of American Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico

JULY 1935 Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

APRIL 1934 Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) Exhibition,Laboratory of Anthropology

NOVEMBER 26, 1933 Two Man Show with Brooks Willis,Franciscan Hotel, Albuquerque, New Mexico

SEPTEMBER 1933 Annual Exhibition by Painters and Sculptors of the Southwest, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

E X H I B I T I O N S

This catalogue is published on the occasion of the exhibition

STUART WALKER: MODERNIST MASTER REVEALEDA RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION

August 14 – October 17, 2009

© 2009 Aaron Payne Fine Art

Aaron Payne Fine Art213 East Marcy Street

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501T. 505 995 9779 F. 505 995 9780

E. [email protected] www.apfineart.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-615-31583-6

Cover Detail: Composition No. 59Catalogue Figure 25

Catalogue Design: www.winshipphillips.comPhotography: James Hart Photography, Santa Fe

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MODERNIST MASTER REVEALEDA RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBIT ION

Stuart Walker: Modernist Master Revealed

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