Peter Hurd
Windmill And Well At Dusk - Original Vintage Lithograph
1936

Name: Windmill And Well At Dusk - Original Vintage Lithograph
Brand: Peter Hurd
Price: 575 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Windmill And Well At Dusk - Original Vintage Lithograph Original vintage black and white lithograph of a windmill and well at dusk by Peter Hurd (American, 1904-1984). The viewer looks out into the New Mexico desert, as a windmill stands in back of a full water tank. The setting dusky sun lights the horizon as the crescent moon comes into view. Simple, beautiful New Mexico desert scene. Signed in print575 "Peter Hurd" lower right. Presented in a silver frame with an inner white mat. Frame: 15.25"H x 19.25"W Mat: 14.5"H x 18.5"W Image: 8.75"H x 10.25"W Peter Hurd (American, 1904-1984) was an American painter whose work is strongly associated with the people and landscapes of San Patricio, New Mexico, where he lived in the 1930s. He is equally acclaimed for his portraits and his western landscapes. Early in his life, Hurd studied in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania under the noted illustrator N. C. Wyeth, along with two of his grown children. Hurd later married the painter's eldest daughter, Henriette Wyeth, who also is known as an accomplished painter. During World War II, Hurd worked for Life magazine as a war correspondent attached to the US Air Force. He created hundreds of "War Sketches". Hurd came to national attention in the 1930's for both painting and book illustration. Among the books are Last of the Mohicans (1926), Great Stories of the Sea and Ships (1933), and Habit of Empire (1938). Nevertheless, he was most associated with the New Mexico subjects which occupied most of his career. He worked primarily in egg tempera on gesso, a medium he introduced to his younger brother-in-law, Andrew Wyeth. Hurd's realist palette and brush technique of fine, linear marks and hatches beautifully conveyed the scrubby high-desert landscape. He loved to explore the visual effect of constantly changing weather and sunlight on the land. Hurd also was known for his honest yet sympathetic portrayals of local ranch and farm families going about the work and pleasures of their daily lives. Sponsored by New Deal art programs, Heard painted murals for the Big Springs, Texas Post Office in 1938 and the Terminal Annex Building in Dallas in 1940. In that latter year he also completed three fresco murals at the Alamogordo, New Mexico Post Office. From 1942 to 1945 Hurd worked as a war correspondent for Life magazine and then resumed full-time painting. During 1953 and 1954 Peter, Henriette, and two students, Manuel Acosta and John Meigs, painted a fresco mural in the rotunda of what was then the West Texas Museum at Texas Technical College (now Texas Tech) at Lubbock. In 1957, Hurd released an album, Spanish Folk Songs of New Mexico, a collection of ranchera songs. The next year he was appointed to the President's Commission of Fine Arts, and in 1967 was commissioned to paint the portrait of Lyndon Johnson. The President rejected the finished work declaring it "the ugliest thing I ever saw." It now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

Creator:

Peter Hurd (1904 - 1984, American)

Creation Year:

1936

Dimensions:

Height: 15.25 in (38.74 cm)Width: 19.25 in (48.9 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Paper,Ink,Lithograph

Movement & Style:

American Impressionist

Period:

1930-1939

Condition:

Very good condition. Signed in print only, not pencil signed.

Gallery Location:

Soquel, CA

Reference Number:

Seller: N91161stDibs: LU54213996832

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Peter Hurd

Peter Hurd was born on February 22, 1904. He left his birthplace of Roswell, New Mexico in 1921 after receiving a senatorial appointment to West Point. He left the academy after only two years to pursue a career, not as a soldier but an artist. Hurd sought out N.C. Wyeth in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and studied as his private pupil. Undaunted by Wyeth’s warning that studying under him would be much tougher than attending West Point, Hurd accepted the challenge and studied alongside Wyeth and his children for 10 years. All the Wyeths were quite taken by this handsome, energetic young man in cowboy boots and hat, but none so much as Wyeth’s eldest daughter, Henriette, who married Hurd in 1929. After a decade on the east coast, Hurd longed for his independence and a return to the West. These desires ultimately led the couple, along with their growing family, to San Patricio, New Mexico where they spend the rest of their lives. The landscape of New Mexico inspired Hurd and it was here that he developed his true artistic style. Hurd became celebrated for egg tempera, watercolors and lithographs depicting the New Mexico way of life in the form of landscape and portraits. The rush against time not only challenged Hurd but also led to his creation of field sketches. These sketches were done quickly with watercolor or pen and wash. It was often from his field sketches that Hurd created his detailed tempera and watercolors. Despite his growing popularity as a regional artist, Hurd’s adventurous spirit took him all over the world. His first major excursion took place in the mid-1940s when Hurd left home to serve as an illustrative war correspondent for LIFE Magazine. The resulting wartime works varied from field sketches to fully developed egg tempera and watercolors. Many of these war sketches now hang in the Pentagon. After the war, Hurd traveled to North Africa, Asia and Saudi Arabia, where Hurd befriended and painted King Faisal. These locales made for intriguing works, however, none would bring Hurd as much attention as when he was asked to paint President Johnson’s official portrait. The portrait was notoriously rejected by the president, which generated a great deal of media attention, making Hurd a household name. From his humble beginnings as a Wyeth pupil to his success as a southwest artist, Hurd never lost his commitment to the canvas. Hurd continued to be passionate about his painting career until his death in 1984 but his undying philosophy and legend still live on to this day.