Cloudburst at Black Mesa, New Mexico
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Cloudburst at Black Mesa, New Mexico

Allen Tucker, born Brooklyn, NY 1866-died New York City 1939 · 1925

oil on canvas
Smithsonian American Art Museum
CC0 — Public Domain
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Allen Tucker was one of the “big city” artists who came to New Mexico in the 1920s, forsaking the hustle and clamor of the city for the vast spaces of the high desert. Artists from New York and Chicago often focused on the unusual colors and shapes they found in the southwestern landscape or on the startling and theatrical effects of the weather. Here, Tucker captured the sudden violence and stark contrasts of light and dark that a New Mexico storm can bring.

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