Description
Mesas in Shadow
Maynard Dixon, 1926
Maynard Dixon painted a vast sweep of mesas, sagebrush, and cumulus clouds in this portrayal of unspoiled desert in the American West. While Dixon claimed to be a realist, his painting is a representation of abstract shapes. He mediates the landscape, abstracting forms and colors from nature. Both ends of the composition are open, suggesting a never-ending landscape with unlimited possibilities and resources.
Mesas in Shadow was displayed in the American Dreams and Shaping America exhibitions.
What’s Going On?
The foreground is clay colored desert with green clumps of vegetation scattered throughout bright with intense sunlight. In the distance are deep blue- and purple-colored mesas that are mostly covered in dark shadows. One mesa in the mid-ground on the right side is light by a ray of sun illuminating only it and the rest around it again lies in shadows. The sky is various hues of blue which extend from light to dark blue from the top to bottom. Large stylized gray clouds dominate the sky.
More About Dixon
Maynard Dixon was an important 20th-century American painter. He often depicted images of the American West.
Originally from California, Dixon painted subjects in both Arizona and New Mexico. He eventually settled in Southern Utah. There he developed his signature style of unique compositions. These often featured low horizons and simplified, yet imposing clouds and rock formations in bold colors.
Dixon also focused on preserving the image of Native American peoples whom he believed were disappearing from the American West. While married to the famous photographer Dorothea Lange, Dixon also focused on social realist subjects. These depicted people struggling to make a living during the Great Depression.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.