Sangre de Cristo Forms by John C. Wylie
This is an oil on paper by American modernist painter John C. Wylie titled Sangre de Cristo Forms. It is an abstracted landscape and given the title is assumed to be from New Mexico. The foreground has a large black space with some subtle red highlights that could be interpreted as a rocky landscape. There is a black square superimposed on the foreground. The midground has a jagged purple form with several geometric shapes of various colors framing it. This is dominated by a large yellow square standing on a vertex. The background is diffuse blues and purples with a narrow band of yellow implying a horizon. It's a fascinating and surreal composition that is very characteristic of his work. The work is framed and the framed size is noted. The painting itself is 11 x 7.25 inches. It is signed in the painting lower right J. C. Wylie 1980. The title is given in pencil on the mat lower left and it is signed and dated in pencil lower right. There is also an annotation on the mat # 3 of 3. While this could be an edition, the piece itself does not appear to be a print, so I think this could be one of a tryptic. The piece has not been examined out of the frame. It is in excellent condition. There is no damage or paint loss. The colors are vivid. It was deaccessioned from a University Collection. A fine modern piece. See the other two pieces by the same artist.
John C. Wylie was born in 1918 in El Paso, Texas. He studied at the University of Minnesota, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from New Mexico Highland University and a Master of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art where he studied with Zoltan Sepechy. He also studied with Richard Neutra at the Art Institute of Chicago. He had extensive exhibits in 1940s and 50s primarily in the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) and in New Mexico. Most notably he had exhibitions at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis) (1953), the Minneapolis Institute of Art (1952), the Detroit Museum of Fine Art (1947), and a solo exhibit at the University of New Mexico (1948). He received several awards for exhibited works including the Cranbrook Academy of Art (1949), the Museum of New Mexico (1946, 1951), and the Philbrook Art Center (1947, 1952). He taught at the Memphis Academy of Art from 1950-51; and the Minneapolis School from 1952-54. Wylie 'disappears' from the historical record in the mid-1950s. However, nearly 10 works by him dating from the 1970s (including this work) were discovered as part of a deaccessioning of large art holding of a Midwestern University suggesting a return to the upper Midwest. However, the subject matter does suggest the artist spent considerable time in the Southwest, particularly New Mexico.
Price: $350
Size: 11 x 7.25 inches
Framed Size: 20.25 x 16.25 inches
Condition: Excellent
Medium: Oil on Paper
Subject: Modernism
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