Walter Mruk

Walter Mruk (1883–1942) was an American painter who was a member of Los Cinco Pintores a group of artists who worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the early twentieth century.

Walter Mruk, "Homage to Mabel Dodge", oil on canvas, 1919

Mruk was born Wladyslaw Mruk[1][2] in Buffalo, New York to parents of Polish descent. He studied at the Albright Art Institute. By 1920 he had relocated to Santa Fe, where he worked as a forest ranger, and also as a cartoonist for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.[3]

In 1924–1925, Mruk and fellow painter, Will Shuster travelled to Carlsbad Caverns on a painting adventure before the cave system was established as a national park. They painted in the caverns using lantern light. Mruk's work from this series was described in 1925 in the magazine, El Palacio:

Mruk's canvases are said to be imaginative to a high degree. He filled the cavern with mythical grotesques in an effort to interpret his reaction upon entering the dim lit interior. The work is accepted as a distinct achievement, although decidedly unusual, and difficult of treatment.[4]

One of Mruk's paintings from this series is housed in the Denver Art Museum.[5]

Collections

His work is held in the collections of the Denver Art Museum,[5] the Roswell Museum,[6] the New Mexico Museum of Art,[7] among other venues.

See also

References
  1. Udall, Sharon Rohlfsen (1987). Santa Fe art colony, 1900-1942: July 17-August 8, 1987, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gerald Peters Gallery. p. 15. ISBN 9780935037159. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  2. Poling-Kempes, Lesley (2015). Ladies of the Canyons A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest. University of Arizona Press. p. 255. ISBN 9780816524945. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  3. Robertson, p.83.
  4. Robertson, Edna; Nestor, Sarah (2005). Artists of the Canyons and Caminos Santa Fe: Early Twentieth Century. Gibbs-Smith. p. 122. ISBN 9781423601142. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  5. "The Ghosts of Carlsbad Caverns (1924-1925)". Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  6. "Art Collection". Roswell Museum. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. "Walter Mruk". New Mexico Museum of Art. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
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