Kenneth Miller Adams (1897 – 1966) was an American artist.

Life

He studied at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

and the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1924, he moved to

Taos, New Mexico Taos () is a town in Taos County, New Mexico, Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Santa Fe ...

. He was a member of the

Taos Society of Artists The Taos Society of Artists was an organization of visual arts founded in Taos, New Mexico. Established in 1915, it was disbanded in 1927. The Society was essentially a commercial cooperative, as opposed to a stylistic collective, and its foundation ...

. In 1933, he worked for the

Treasury Relief Art Project The Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) was a New Deal arts program that commissioned visual artists to provide artistic decoration for existing Federal buildings during the Great Depression in the United States. A project of the United States De ...

and the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal work-relief program that employed professional artists to create sculptures, paintings, crafts and design for public buildings and parks during the Great Depression in the United States. The ...

, federal arts programs of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

. In 1937 he was commissioned by the

Section of Painting and Sculpture Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section s ...

to create

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

for the U.S. post offices in

Goodland, Kansas Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,465. It was named after Goodland, Indiana. Goodland is home to Northwest Kansas Technical College ...

, and

Deming, New Mexico Deming (, ''DEM-ing'') is a city in Luna County, New Mexico, Luna County, New Mexico, United States, west of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Cruces and north of the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border. The population was 14,758 as of the ...

. In 1938, he moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

when he was awarded a Carnegie Corporation grant as the first artist-in-residence at the University of New Mexico. He later taught at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

until he retired in 1963. In 1961, he was elected to the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

. He was commissioned by James F. Zimmerman, president of the university, to create a mural for the

university library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

called The Three Peoples, to include the Hispanic, Native American and non-indigenous citizens. Some have considered the final panel of the four as racist because of placement of the Hispanic and Native American figures outside of the central figure in the final mural, but they are all included. The central figure has been vandalized twice, and then restored. His work is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, New Mexico Museum of Art, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Anschutz collection, the Fred Jones Museum of Art,

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. His papers are held at the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

References

External links

Annexgalleries.comAskart.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Kenneh Miller 1897 births 1966 deaths Artists from Topeka, Kansas 20th-century American painters American male painters School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Art Students League of New York alumni University of New Mexico alumni Taos Society of Artists United States Army personnel of World War I Public Works of Art Project artists Section of Painting and Sculpture artists 20th-century American printmakers National Academy of Design members 20th-century American male artists

Life

References

Further reading

External links