Dan Stouffer 1976 Watercolor Sangre de Cristo Mountains Framed

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains take their name from the light. At dusk, the high peaks along New Mexico's eastern spine flush deep red — Blood of Christ — a phenomenon that drew Spanish explorers to name the entire range for what they saw. In autumn, those same peaks put on a second performance: the aspen groves that blanket the upper elevations go gold, and for a few weeks the Sangre de Cristos are ablaze with color from ridge to trail.

Dan Stouffer painted this view in 1976, his second year painting the New Mexico landscape and three years before he left the University of New Mexico Press to become a full-time artist. The composition is intimate and immediate — you are on the mountain, not looking at it. A rocky trail curves along the left edge, granite outcrops rise on the near slope, and golden aspens crowd the foreground in loose, confident strokes of amber and yellow against the deep green of surrounding conifers. Through the gap between the trees, the view opens across a vast valley floor to a layered range of blue-grey mountains receding into haze. The sense of altitude and October cool is palpable.

This is Stouffer before the awards, before the gallery representation, before the sixty national and regional prizes and the listings in Who's Who in American Art. It is early work — personal, direct, painted by a man still being overtaken by a landscape he had only recently discovered. Professionally framed, double-matted behind glass. From a New Mexico private collection.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Ohio and educated at the Ohio State University, Dan Stouffer's early professional career was in book design and production management. His first years in New Mexico were spent at the University of New Mexico Press, where — drawn by the mystique and beauty of the land — he began painting. He turned part-time success in local and regional exhibitions into a full-time career in 1979 and never looked back.

Since then, Stouffer has won 60 national and regional awards in prominent watermedia competitions including Watercolor U.S.A., Rocky Mountain National, and Arts for the Parks. His work has been shown in museums and is held in corporate collections throughout the country. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society, Watercolor USA Honor Society, and Paint America Association, and is listed in Who's Who in American Art and Who's Who in the West. His work has been featured in Southwest Art, Watercolor Quarterly, and Watercolor Magic. In 2010, the Albuquerque Art Business Association named him a "local treasure." He currently resides in Bosque Farms, NM, and is represented by Weems Gallery, Albuquerque.

(Biography courtesy of danstouffer.com)

CONDITION

Good. The painting surface appears clean and intact with no visible foxing, staining, or water damage to the image. Glass is intact and the mat presents well from the front. Please note two issues visible in supplemental reference photos: the paper dust cover on the verso has sustained a significant tear, and there is a minor indentation on the left side of the frame. Neither have affected the painting itself.

SPECIFICATIONS