Oscar Edmund Berninghaus

Paul Grafe, Santa Paula, California (acquired from the artist)
By descent to the present owner

Oscar Edmund Berninghaus, Oscar E. Berninghaus A.N.A. Paintings in the Collection of Mr. Paul Grafe Los Angeles, Taos, New Mexico, 1946, illustrated

The canvas is lined. There is a possible chip of loss in the center sky. Under UV: there are scattered dots of inpainting in the sky and a 2-inch line in the sky at center. There is one dot of inpainting in the hill at left and inpainting to frame abrasion at the upper left edge.
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Oscar Berninghaus dedicated his life to capturing the beauty of Taos, New Mexico. He was first introduced to the area in 1899 and returned regularly to sketch, eventually becoming a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists and relocating permanently from St. Louis. Berninghaus recalled the area fondly stating, “Since 1918 Taos has been my permanent home, having acquired a small adobe house and adding additions to it as the years rolled by.” He went on to say, “It is the southwest and I love it as in it I find my philosophy of life” (as quoted in Oscar E. Berninghaus, A.N.A. Paintings in the Collection of Mr. Paul Grafe, Los Angeles, n.p.).

Berninghaus, who initially trained as a commercial artist, found endless inspiration in the landscape and people of Taos, recording events and fleeting moments with a vivid, rich palette. In the present work, Crowd at Horse Race–Taos, Berninghaus remembered his inspiration specifically, stating that it was “the time of the Fiestas, late in September, a horse race is on the program and I, like many others, go to find it. On arriving there I become far more interested in the motely crowd made up of Indians from distant Pueblos and reservations, Mexican, tourists, townspeople and odd conveyances” (Ibid).

Berninghaus quickly captured this inspiring moment with small pencil sketches highlighted with crayon color and ‘mental notes.’ The finished work was later rendered in the artist’s studio, which was typical of paintings of this scale and complexity. Berninghaus recalled his process in the studio and noted that “As the work progressed color and pigment were applied more plastically until its final completion.  It is the method I employ on compositions of the nature. For variety I have a penchant for painting groups, mingling crowds and have painted many. This painting is an excellent example” (Ibid).