Los Alamos Country. 40 x 76.

I grew up here. I saw my first mountain lion right on the far side of
this canyon. What we are seeing is a weathered cornice of basalt
topped by a pink cliff of volcanic ash that has been cut by water to
form Los Alamos Canyon plunging eight hundred feet beneath us. Far to
the left, thirty miles away, is the snowcapped ridge of the Sangre de
Cristo range north of Santa Fe. These mountains turn bright pink
later on at sunset, which is why they are called the Blood of Christ.
In a letter to Jack Hines in 1987, Wilson wrote about this painting:
This is the country where I grew up. Perhaps that is why it seems to
me to be the most beautiful. The land slopes eastward to the Rio
Grande valley, and east of the river stands the Sangre de Christo
Range. The painting was started in the early spring, and while I was
working on the oil study for it on the edge of the canyon, waves of
wild geese were flying north.

Have Questions or Comments ? Contact Us.