Harold Joe Waldrum: Las Sombras

Harold Joe Waldrum (1935-2003) was a painter, etcher, photographer, author, and teacher, as well as an activist for the preservation of historic churches. His work is full of vibrant color and powerful geometric lines. Fueled by a critic’s remarks about work he created in the late 1970s being “New York paintings”, Waldrum sought to depict the quintessential New Mexico image and chose to paint the back of the church at Los Ranchos de Taos, focusing on the dramatic adobe architecture and deep contrasting shadows found in the Southwest.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.