Plaza Building

Western Eyes: 20th Century Art Here and Now will explore regional developments of modernism including American realism, Indigenous modernism and Native American art, and Mexican modernism. It will highlight southwestern modernist painting and sculpture and display stylistic developments including abstract expressionism, minimalism, and pop. This exhibition illustrates how the museum’s collection is representative of these...

Ansel Adams is one of the first names that springs to mind when people think about photography. This exhibition of sixteen prints from the museum’s collection, augmented with two promised gifts, concentrates on the photographs that Adams made around 1932, before he became a household name. In the late 1920s, Adams shifted away from the...

Art dealer Elaine Horwitch was a major force in contemporary art in the Southwest from the early 1970s until her death in 1991, responsible for launching the careers of hundreds of artists from the region. With galleries in Scottsdale, Santa Fe, Sedona, and Palm Springs, she was a leader in fostering what has been called...

Narrative art tells a story. It can either illustrate historic events or bring the imagination to life. It can be somber, humorous, didactic, or entertaining. The traditions of storytelling in the Southwest go back to ancient times and the indigenous populations of the region, and include themes such as satire, agriculture and ecology, everyday experiences,...

In 1918, Gustave Baumann moved to New Mexico where the formidable yellow and red landscapes and wide-open skies dramatically changed his aesthetic, shifting his palette from monochromatic neutrals to the brilliant and vibrant colors that have come to define his western landscapes. Baumann also encountered a diverse cultural environment unlike anything he had experienced before....

Poetic Justice celebrates the work of artists Judith F. Baca, Mildred Howard, and Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith. These three innovative artists have for decades been creating complex works of beauty that evoke memory, history and emotion. The exquisite prose of their visual story telling draws attention to less familiar perspectives surrounding community issues such as land use, the...

Overview Alcoves 20/20 #4 is the last in the 20/20 series of Alcoves exhibitions. The Alcoves series features five, small, one-person exhibitions by contemporary artists working in New Mexico. The series highlights the wealth of artistic talent across the state. Working broadly across the fields of photography and painting, this installation will feature artwork by Karsten Creightney, JC Gonzo,  Phillis Ideal,...

In 1920 serious health issues brought William Shuster to New Mexico, kicking off 49 years of creativity, exploration, and engagement. Almost immediately he integrated himself into Santa Fe’s burgeoning bohemian art scene, and made a reputation for himself as eccentric and passionate member of the community with an unsurpassed lust for life. Shuster embraced the...

During the Renaissance, biblical episodes from the life of Christ were the artistic mainstay for a majority of artists. This exhibition focuses on the three major stages of Christ’s life: his incarnation, in the form of the Nativity; his Crucifixion; and finally the Resurrection. Through fifty three drawings and prints from the British Museum, we...

Overview The alcove shows continue the tradition began in 1917 of exhibiting works made by living artists.  These small, one-person exhibitions, called alcoves, were held in the original gallery space through the 1950s, resuming in the mid-1980s and again in the early 1990s and 2012. Alcoves 2020 continues this tradition with a series of six exhibitions featuring the...