West Texas, oil on canvasboard, 18 x 24, signed lower left: Lewis Teel, Teel was a Southwest landscapist, captivated by the mountainous regions of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. He grew up in El Paso, Texas, and spent much of his childhood exploring the outdoors. As an adult, Teel pursued an art career in Taos, New Mexico, where he apprenticed with famous Taos painter and founder of the Taos Society of Artists, Joseph Henry Sharp (American, 1859-1953). Teel grew to favor views of the desert found in West Texas, with its mountains and canyons, and would return to that subject often in his work. Teel exhibited in the region, and was awarded first prize in the traveling State Federation of Women’s Clubs exhibition. He was active in several professional organizations, including the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Texas Fine Arts Association, the El Paso Art Guild, and the El Paso Art Association.