Delmas Howe: The Lithographs at RioBravoFineArt in Truth or Consequences features rare works from the artist’s Rodeo Pantheon series. On view through August 31.
Delmas Howe: The Lithographs
opening July 12, 6-9 pm
RioBravoFineArt, Truth or Consequences
Delmas Howe: The Lithographs is a show of the complete inventory of Howe’s lithographs, plus a limited number of some never-before-exhibited sketches from the RioBravoFineArt archives. Although Howe’s lithographs are a lesser-known part of his oeuvre, which is almost exclusively painted canvas, his lithographs include some of his most iconic images.
As Howe was learning to paint in the 1950s in New York, he developed a love for the style of the École des Beaux Arts. His friend and art historian Edward Lucie-Smith encouraged Howe to paint what he knew. What Howe knew was the cowboy culture of Southern New Mexico as he was raised in Hot Springs, now Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. While the paintings of the École had a strong emphasis on the classic myth stories of the Greeks and Romans, the cowboy is a mythic America figure and the American Southwest, of which New Mexico is a defining part, is the myth machine for this nation. Howe brilliantly combined these two strains of myth into the major paintings of his Rodeo Pantheon series, which established Howe’s career as an important artist.
Howe’s lithographs reflect his mastery of combining classic myths with the mythic aspects of the cowboy and the American West. And the mythic elements that Howe explores are a part of what has shaped the American psyche.
Howe is approaching his ninetieth birthday, and RioBravoFineArt is proud to present this unique show of his work. The show opening is during Second Saturday Art Hop, a monthly event in Truth or Consequences when the galleries of T or C extend their evening hours and the town sponsors special events. The show remains on view through August 31.
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