In the early 1920s, Santa Fe was a city poised on the edge of transformation. Still a relatively remote territorial capital adjusting to New Mexico's recent statehood (1912), it possessed an undeniable allure. Its unique blend of Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures, combined with the dramatic high-desert landscape and luminous light, had already begun attracting artists and writers. Nearby, the Taos Society of Artists had established a reputation for depicting Southwestern subjects, largely in an academic or impressionistic style. Santa Fe's own Museum of Fine Arts, opened in 1917, provided a focal point, fostered by director Edgar L. Hewett's vision of a culturally rich city.
Into this evolving scene stepped five young men, mostly in their twenties and relative newcomers, seeking health, inspiration, or simply a different way of life. They arrived from various parts of the country, bringing diverse backgrounds but finding common ground in their artistic aspirations and a shared dissatisfaction with conventional art expectations. These five individuals would soon band together to form a group that fundamentally shaped Santa Fe's identity as a major art colony: Los Cinco Pintores.
Jozef Bakos (1891-1977), the son of Polish immigrants, grew up in Buffalo, New York, and studied art there before teaching briefly in Colorado. He arrived in Santa Fe in 1920, initially making ends meet by carving furniture for the La Fonda hotel. Fremont Ellis (1897-1985) hailed from Montana, the son of an itinerant dentist and theater operator. Largely self-taught but profoundly impacted by seeing Albert Bierstadt's work, Ellis had briefly practiced optometry before committing to art and settling in Santa Fe in 1919.
Walter Mruk (1883-1942), also from an immigrant background, arrived around the same time, bringing his unique perspective. Willard Nash (1898-1943), originally from Philadelphia, brought sensibilities leaning towards abstraction and Cubism, having studied briefly in Detroit. And Will Shuster (1893-1969), the Philadelphian engineer whose WWI lung injuries necessitated a move to the Southwest in 1920, found his artistic calling under the mentorship of visiting painter John Sloan.
Drawn together by shared ideals and perhaps a feeling of being outsiders to the more established art circles, these five artists formally coalesced in 1921. Fremont Ellis reportedly suggested "The Five Painters," but his wife, Laurencita Gonzales, proposed the Spanish translation, "Los Cinco Pintores," grounding the group in the cultural milieu of their adopted home.
Their philosophy set them apart. While inspired by the landscape and cultures of New Mexico, they embraced modernist principles, influenced by figures like Cézanne and the Ashcan School realism of Robert Henri and John Sloan. They weren't unified by a single style – Ellis leaned towards Impressionism, Nash explored abstraction, Bakos and Shuster captured local scenes with expressive realism – but by a shared desire for artistic freedom and a mission to make art relevant to everyday people. As Bakos declared in a manifesto published in El Palacio magazine, the group aimed "to reach out to the factory, the mine and the hospital, as well as the gallery... to awaken the worker to a keener realization and appreciation of beauty."
Their first group exhibition opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in December 1921, generating excitement and commentary on their bold use of color. They actively sought broader audiences, organizing a Midwestern touring exhibit in 1922 and showing in Los Angeles in 1923. Famously, they even exhibited work in the New Mexico State Penitentiary.
Perhaps the most tangible symbol of their collaborative spirit was their ambitious project to build their own homes along Camino del Monte Sol. With more enthusiasm than expertise, they constructed simple adobe houses adjacent to each other, learning the techniques as they went. This endeavor earned them the affectionate, if slightly mocking, nickname "five little nuts in five mud huts," but it cemented their presence and created a physical nucleus for Santa Fe's burgeoning art colony distinct from the downtown Plaza area.
These homes became centers of a lively bohemian social scene. The Pintores were known for their parties and gatherings, interacting with Santa Fe's growing circle of writers, poets, and visiting intellectuals like Witter Bynner, Mary Austin, D.H. Lawrence, and Carl Sandburg. They embodied the energetic, experimental, and community-focused spirit of early 20th-century Santa Fe. Though the group formally disbanded by 1926, the bonds formed and the impact they made resonated long after.
Why Their Legacy Matters
The legacy of Los Cinco Pintores extends far beyond their relatively short existence as a formal group. Their importance lies in their pivotal role in defining Santa Fe as a unique and modern art center, distinct from its neighbor Taos, and in shaping the city's enduring creative spirit. Understanding their story is key to understanding Santa Fe's cultural DNA.
They decisively put Santa Fe on the map as a place where modern art thrived. While Taos was known for its established Society of Artists, Los Cinco Pintores represented a younger, more experimental, and arguably more bohemian alternative. Their presence and activities attracted national attention and drew other like-minded artists to the region, contributing significantly to the growth of the art colony.
Their stated goal of "taking art to the people" was revolutionary for its time and place. By exhibiting outside traditional gallery settings, they challenged the notion of art as an elite commodity and championed its potential to enrich the lives of the entire community. This democratic spirit contributed to Santa Fe's reputation as an accessible and vibrant arts hub.
The diversity within the group itself is significant. Their styles ranged from Ellis's lyrical impressionism to Nash's near-abstraction, demonstrating that Santa Fe fostered artistic freedom rather than adherence to a single dogma. Their collective body of work offers a rich and varied visual narrative of Northern New Mexico in the 1920s – its landscapes, its people, its unique blend of cultures – captured through distinct modernist lenses.
Furthermore, their collaborative adventure building homes on Camino del Monte Sol embodies the hands-on, community-building spirit that characterized the early Santa Fe art colony. They weren't just depicting the place; they were literally shaping it. Their story is a compelling example of artistic camaraderie and resilience.
Finally, individual members made lasting contributions. Will Shuster's creation of Zozobra, born from the playful spirit of this era, remains Santa Fe's most unique cultural ritual. The continued renown of artists like Fremont Ellis and Jozef Bakos further solidifies the group's importance. Studying Los Cinco Pintores provides invaluable insight into the roots of Santa Fe's enduring identity as "The City Different."
5 Things Most People Don't Know
- Literal Outreach: Their mission to "take art to the people" wasn't just rhetoric. Records show they arranged exhibitions in unconventional venues, including schools, the miners' hospital in Madrid, New Mexico, and even the New Mexico State Penitentiary in Santa Fe, truly attempting to reach audiences far removed from the traditional art world.
- Furniture First: Before gaining recognition as a painter, Jozef Bakos, a skilled woodworker, supported himself upon arriving in Santa Fe by carving furniture. His work included pieces commissioned for the historic La Fonda hotel on the Plaza, showcasing the blend of fine art aspirations and practical craft often necessary for artists starting out.
- Youngest Member, Old Master Inspiration: Fremont Ellis, the youngest of the Pintores (only 22 when the group formed), was largely self-taught. A key inspiration for his pursuing landscape painting occurred years earlier, during a teenage trip to New York, where he was profoundly moved by the grand, romantic Western landscapes of Albert Bierstadt, linking the young modernist group back to the 19th-century masters of Western art.
- "Mud Hut" Mishaps Were Real: The nickname "five little nuts in five mud huts" stemmed from genuine construction difficulties. Building their own adobes on Camino del Monte Sol with little prior experience led to comical setbacks. Will Shuster later recalled instances where his or Fremont Ellis's newly laid adobe walls actually collapsed, highlighting the challenging, hands-on nature of their community-building efforts.
- Incubator for a Creative Neighborhood: Although Los Cinco Pintores formally dissolved in 1926, the area along Camino del Monte Sol where they built their homes quickly became a magnet for other creative figures. Influential artists like Andrew Dasburg and writers Mary Austin and Lynn Riggs subsequently moved to the neighborhood, solidifying its status as a vital center of Santa Fe's artistic and literary life for decades to come.
#LosCincoPintores #SantaFeArtColony #SantaFeArt #NewMexicoArt #Modernism #WillShuster #FremontEllis #JozefBakos #WillardNash #WalterMruk #ArtHistory #SantaFeHistory #CaminoDelMonteSol #AmericanArt #SantaFeNM #SimplySantaFe #SantaFeInsiders #TheFivePainters
Add comment
Comments