Agnes Gabrielle Tait (1894-1981) Untitled (Blue Mountain) and Signed and Lithograph ""

Agnes Gabrielle Tait (1894-1981), Untitled (Blue Mountain); Oil on Board; Painting: 24"H, 20"W, Framed: 36"H, 32" W

BIOGRAPHY: Agnes Tait grew up in New York and, at the age of fourteen, entered the National Academy of Design. During the next five years she studied with a variety of artists until her mother's death for which she took a sabbatical from her studies. When she returned to the academy, Tait took a life drawing class taught by Leon Kroll, whose emphasis on craftsmanship and balanced design was a major influence on her own work. In 1927, she went abroad and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts where she learned lithography. The following year she returned to New York, where she had her first exhibition at the Dudensing Galleries. Tait traveled to Europe a second time in the early 1930s and returned via Haiti and Jamaica, which fostered an interest in tropical scenes. Her first solo exhibition, of portraits, took place in 1932 at the Ferargil Galleries. Tait married in 1933 to journalist William McNulty. The following year, she was employed as a painter under the Public Works of Art Project during which she executed what is considered her most famous work, Skating in Central Park. Agnes focused much of her attention on northern New Mexico, particularly its landscapes, adobes and churches, and various ethnic groups. Her lithographs, watercolors, oils and works in other media included titles such as Lane in Santa Fe; El Christo Rey; Sanctuario de Chimayo; Little Navaho; Pilgrimage to Chimayo; Canyon Coral, and Pecos Valley. [2] She also completed two murals during her time in Santa Fe-one, notably for the First National Bank of Santa Fe that depicted the entry of General Stephen Watts Kearny into the city during the Mexican War which she completed in 1953.