The Spirit of Santa Fe
MARTHA MARKS COMMENTS ON BERNARD MARKS’ WHIMSICAL OIL PAINTING “THE SPIRIT OF SANTA FE”:
Bernie made this big, bright, and happy painting in his studio during the summer of 2020, just a few months before he died.
It reflects a change that I began observing in that last year of his life. His work is less evocative than before, more illustrative. Lines are crisper, more defining. Colors are brighter, less subtle. There’s a “you are there” folk-art feeling that’s charming and quite different from way he painted before.
I’m sure this evolution was intentional. Bernie called my attention to it while he was working on this piece, using photos he’d made back in the day when tourists flocked to Santa Fe. He asked if I liked it, and of course, I told him that I did… because I truly did!
What I suspect is that it was just more fun for him to paint this way during that first pandemic year, when our ability to travel to the natural places that we loved was limited. Increasing concerns about his health would have kept us home, too, even without Covid-19.
In this painting, it feels like Bernie’s taking us by the hand, leading us along San Francisco Street past the Plaza. We’re walking between the historic La Fonda hotel on the right and the Indian Arts Museum on the left. For a moment, we pause and gaze past the people and a long exhibit tent. Right at the end of the street is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe’s patron saint.
Bernie takes us there on a warm summer day. We’re observing the crowd of sightseers, but not part of them. They’re an interesting collection of visitors, almost surely not native Santa Feans.
Ultimately, Bernie called this painting “The Spirit of Santa Fe.” I assume he meant the city’s unique combination of history and culture and charm and glorious weather and tourist appeal. But—knowing Bernie as I do, or did—he may have intended it to say something else.
At the time he showed it to me, he had not yet given it a name. I only discovered it written on the back of the painting, as I was clearing out his studio after his death. Wish I’d seen the name before he died, so I could have asked him what he meant.
In all, twelve of Bernie’s paintings of Santa Fe’s Indian Market and its “twin” event Spanish Market —of all sizes, prices, and media—are offered on this site:
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS AND LARGE, TOP-QUALITY GICLEE PRINTS: “Festive Celebration,” “Procession from the Cathedral,” and “The Spirit of Santa Fe.”
EXCELLENT SMALLER GICLEE PRINTS: “Afternoon at Indian Market,” “Indian Market and Cathedral,” “Indian Market at La Fonda,” “Indian Market Corner,” “Indian Market on the Plaza,” “Indian Market Seen from Above,” “Santa Fe Indian Market,” “Santa Fe Market,” and “Spanish Market Scooter.“
This original painting is available for purchase, as are large, top-quality, custom-made giclée prints.
• oil on canvas, ready for hanging or framing
• 30″ x 30″
TO PLACE AN ORDER…
Choose a link below for the painting or print of your choice. (Prices include all applicable taxes. If shipping is needed, that additional cost will depend on the distance from Santa Fe and the speed desired.)
2. GICLEE PRINT ON THICK ARCHIVAL PAPER, same size as the original, ready for framing: $750
3. PRINT ON GALLERY-WRAPPED CANVAS, same size as the original, ready for hanging or framing: $750
CONTACT MARTHA MARKS if you you’re prefer a different size print of either type.
Return to the NEW MEXICO page of the Oils and Acrylics section.
This painting and all reproductions of it are © Bernard Marks Fine Art LLC. No unauthorized use is permitted. All rights reserved.