2024.01.24 Dasburg Exhibit Catalog V6 - Catalog - Page 6
Andrew Dasburg (1887-1979)
Andrew Dasburg was born in Paris France in 1887, and moved to the United States with his widowed mother in 1892.
They settled in New York City and he began his art studies at a young age eventually studying at the Art Students
League. There he met many important artists who influenced his artistic abilities. Among them were Robert Henri, Kenyon
Cox and Charles Morgan Russell, all of whom were influential artists of the time. Morgan Russell along with Stanton
Macdonald-Wright was the founder of Synchromism, a uniquely abstract painting style during 1912-1921.
Russell arranged an introduction for Dasburg to meet Matisse in his studio, during a trip to Paris in 1909-10. He also saw
the work of Cezanne at the Vollard’s Gallery during this trip. These associations had a profound effect on the artist and
helped him develop his unique artistic style that carried throughout his life. He learned about the fluidity of the line, the
geometry of angles and the simplicity of shapes. In 1913 he exhibited three works at the very important Armory Show of
1913. This exhibition is often considered the most important event in the history of American art, and to have work
exhibited there gave an artist special status.
Andrew Dasburg visited New Mexico in 1918 at the request of his friend Mabel Dodge who was living in Taos. He soon
began dividing his time between New York and Taos until he moved permanently to New Mexico in 1930. His association
with New Mexico changed his artistic style and he became a very accomplished landscape painter mostly of New Mexico.
At first glance, one might say drawings are just drawings. The works in this exhibition, however; tell a completely different
story. Of the 15 drawings, 2 pastels, 3 lithographs, and 1 oil painting in the exhibition, no two works are alike. Dasburg
was a master at the medium of graphite and ink and could give each work a unique personality. Some works are filled
with gentile curved lines that represent the openness of the landscape. Others emphasize straight-edged hardline
geometric shapes of buildings or mountains. While still, others are fierce and filled with energy. He often uses large angular
shapes to create a dramatic landscape, while others have soft curving lines that show a quality of serenity and peaceful
open vistas.
Dasburg can capture the space of the New Mexico landscape, and the vibrancy of the rugged environment by suggesting
shapes of buildings, houses, churches, and mountain vistas. He also would create texture with his pen giving the effect
of scribbled lines that look like spiderwebs and bounce around the paper and constantly challenge the viewer. These
symphonic drawings give the viewer a chance to reflect on the concepts of positive and negative space, the infinite
landscape as seen through a blend of lines and shapes, and create movement in a stagnant image.