Midwinter in the Sangre de Cristos

Gene Kloss, Midwinter in the Sangre de Cristos, ca. 1936, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.195
Copied Gene Kloss, Midwinter in the Sangre de Cristos, ca. 1936, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 1⁄4 in. (50.8 x 76.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.195

Artwork Details

Title
Midwinter in the Sangre de Cristos
Artist
Date
ca. 1936
Location
Dimensions
20 x 30 1⁄4 in. (50.8 x 76.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project — New Mexico
  • Landscape — mountain — Sangre de Christo Mountains
  • Landscape — New Mexico
  • Landscape — season — winter
  • Landscape — road
Object Number
1964.1.195
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1964.1.195

Artwork Description

Gene Kloss showed the jagged peaks of northern New Mexico rising behind a ghostly mass of aspens and cottonwoods. The luminous middle ground lies at the heart of a spiral of slate gray clouds and shadows, capturing the cold drama of a mountain landscape more than seven thousand feet above sea level. Throughout her career, Kloss felt strongly that American artists should wander beyond the limits of their cities and embrace the native landscape, warning that “Industrial society leads the artist away from nature.” (Bradley, Gene Kloss: Graphic Works from Six Decades, 1984)