Paul Forster (American, 1925-2012). "Canyon de Chelly" oil on canvas, n.d. Signed on lower left. A striking painting of Canyon de Chelly by Paul Forster, finely painted with a keen eye for light and color, and presenting a dramatic composition that includes charmingly small staffage figures - horses and equestrians - amidst massive geologic structures. Canyon de Chelly is a one-of-a-kind landscape located in the land of the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona of the Four Corners region. In addition to being breathtakingly beautiful, it is a richly historic place that preserves the ruins of the indigenous peoples who resided there - from the Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans) to the Navajo. It is among the longest continuously inhabited regions of North America. Size: 29.875" L x 39.875" W (75.9 cm x 101.3 cm)

At the age eight, Paul Forster became the youngest member of the Albright Art Gallery Association and also started studying at the Museum School with watercolorist Robert Blair. During World War II, Forster served in the Army Air Corps, and in 1952, he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Fine Arts Degree. In the late 1950s, Forster had a studio in Nevada painted murals for the Mormon Church. In the early 1960s, he taught art and became Chairman of the Art Department of the L.D.S. Schools of the South Pacific in Tonga. In 1969 he left Brigham Young University to paint full time. For the greater part of the next decade, Forster traveled throughout the American Southwest in an Airstream trailer to paint. In time, he moved to Oregon followed by Kansas City, but eventually returned to Arizona.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173006

Signed by the artist on the lower left. "Canyon de Chelly" and "Canyon" handwritten in black on edge of canvas. Scuffs, abrasions, indentations, areas of craquelure, and a few more pronounced scratches as shown. Small puncture at lower left above the signature. "Art of the Western Edge" exhibition label attached to verso.