View of Cerrillos
MARTHA MARKS COMMENTS ON BERNARD MARKS’ “VIEW OF CERRILLOS,” A NEW MEXICO GHOST TOWN:
These days, Cerrillos, which means “little hills,” is often called a ghost town, even though it’s not. Not exactly, anyway. There are people living in Cerrillos, including a community of artists. But not nearly as many people live there now as in the past.
Once upon a time — going back a thousand years, deep into its pre-conquest history — Cerrillos was the heart of a thriving turquoise-mining industry. Mines filled the nearby mountains, including Mount Chalchihuitl, which was once the site of the most active turquoise-mining operation in North America. Later gold miners came here from all over the country to try their luck as well, but it was not nearly as successful an effort.
That history explains the name of today’s Highway 14 scenic route that offers travelers the best non-Interstate alternative between Albuquerque to Santa Fe. The Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway passes through one so-called ghost town, Madrid (pronounced Mad-rid around these parts), and bypasses this another one, Cerrillos.
In this sweet, gentle painting, which hung in our living room for over a decade, Bernie shows us a view of the town from one of the surrounding Cerrillos Hills. That name is 100% redundant, since cerrillos means “little hills,” but it is what the locals call them. You can see those hills in this painting.
For an evocative peek at “downtown” Cerrillos, see Bernie’s watercolor “Cerrillos,” also in this section.
This original painting is available for purchase, as are top-quality, custom-made, archival giclée prints.
- Original: unframed watercolor
- Size: 13″x 20.5″
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 price of packaging.)
- Click here to order this original unframed painting: $1,500
- Click here to order a top-quality giclée print, same size as the original: $375
Contact Martha Marks if you’d prefer a different size print.
RETURN to the New Mexico page of the Watercolor Landscapes section.
This painting and all reproductions of it are © Bernard Marks Fine Art LLC. No unauthorized use is permitted. All rights reserved.