183

  • Winter

  • ca. 1989
  • Robert Daughters (American b. 1929)
  • Oil on canvas
  • 22.7 x 30.5 cm., 9 x 12"
  • Gift of George J. Schlenker, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, Augustana College 2003.1

Essay by Griselda Mata, Class of 2012

The American Southwest, its beauty and wonderment, has been the inspiration for many artists throughout the ages. Such breathtaking scenery bewitched Robert Daughters and become one of his favorite subjects to paint. While attending the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design, he met his wife, and upon their marriage in 1953, they spent their honeymoon in Taos, New Mexico where he was moved by the scenery and culture. Seventeen years later, after success and recognition in commercial art, the Daughters relocated, first to Santa Fe in 1970, then two years later to Taos ("Striking").

Redefining himself in his new surroundings, Daughters developed an aesthetic influenced by Post-Impressionists, Paul Gauguin (web gallery 132) and émile Bernard, characterized by intensity and expressionism concentrated in jewel like colors, often delineated in black. This technique, referred to as Cloisonnism as it imitates the jewel-like effect of traditional enamel and gold cloisonné work, lent Daughters' paintings a simplicity and luminosity equal to his vision of the Southwest ("Striking"). Like a musical composer, Daughters strove to create harmony through balancing elements of color, light, and composition.

In Winter, viewers glimpse the magnificent and vivacious mountains that encompass half the composition. Our attention is immediately drawn to the Southwestern snowcapped mountains in the background. Daughters highlighted the mountain's ridges through dark blue shadows, like wrinkles on a face, reflecting the passing of time. Thick brushstrokes of pinks and purples further detail the mountainous facade. The middle ground is characterized by the warm and rich colors of the plateaus and desert plains, vividly contrasting against the dark mountain behind. The plateaus are outlined by cloisonnist black lines, inspired by the Post-Impressionist technique favored by Daughters. In the foreground, Daughters painted the rustic brush in black with blue outlines. The manner in which Daughters paints this composition, places viewers within the brush, like an audience gazing intently and eagerly awaiting an orchestra to begin playing. His composer's approach is also evident as the composition is arranged with complementary harmonies of light and shadows. Robert Daughters' depiction of the American Southwest is executed perfectly through his illustration of the vivid colors and light which captures the timelessness of the region with which he fell in love.