by Steve Gleydura on
OUR LATEST ART purchase happened on a camping trip to Cimarrón Canyon State Park. My wife and I were on the hunt for rainbow trout and fresh mountain air—not another artwork. On Saturday, though, we drove into Cimarrón to check out the St. James Hotel. Along the way, we nabbed drinks at Hiker’s Coffee Co. and scored a vintage Philmont Scout Ranch T-shirt and mug at Open Hands Thrift Store.
Down the street, a weathered Buffalo Nickel sign painted on the side of a brick building promised fine art, jewelry, sporting goods, shovels and picks, caskets, and more. As if that list weren’t enticing enough, an estate-sale sign hung in the front window. While there was no evidence of mining tools, the gallery was filled with colorful geometric paintings arranged in even-numbered grids. “These are all by Bennett Strahan,” a woman, who turned out to be his sister, told us. “He passed away last February. Everything’s for sale—just make an offer.”
We’ve developed a strict philosophy for estate sales: We only buy what moves us and don’t research anything until we get home. Strahan’s sister led us to a large home studio space behind the gallery, outfitted with built-in bookcases, a massive fireplace, and even more art. High up on the mantel sat an abstract painting in pale blue with a square and broken red line up the left side. As I climbed up to retrieve the panel painting from its perch, we knew this was the one. We paired it with a smaller blue geometric piece, and likely would have bought more if not for the limits of our midsize SUV’s back seat.
Only later did we learn that Strahan had been a Taliesin-trained architect who got his start after meeting Frank Lloyd Wright as a kid. He had severe dyslexia and learned to read by holding books up to a mirror. “I think it has probably helped me more than any single thing I can think of,” Strahan told the Los Angeles Times in a 1999 profile. Much of Strahan’s work, therefore, used a monotype printing process. He painted color layers in reverse on glass and then pressed the positive image on canvas.
“This is as majestic as anyplace I’ve ever been,” he told the LA Times of Cimarrón. “I’m here because of the prairie, because of what I paint.”
You can feel New Mexico in each of his brushstrokes. Strahan’s work not only draws inspiration from the Land of Enchantment, but also helps you to understand and appreciate it. That’s what our “State of the Art” cover package does as well—because art here is more than a form of expression, it’s a way of life.