William Howard Shuster Jr. (1893–1969) was an American painter, sculptor and teacher.

Youth

alt=six hooded figures walk rightwards bathed in a dim yellow light from an unseen source, upright=1.1, ''The Eve of Saint Francis'', 1922 Shuster was born November 26, 1893, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, as the second of three children. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in France, where he developed tuberculosis after being gassed. He would receive a disability pension thereafter.

New Mexico

alt=hilly, snowy landscape in muted blues, whites, greys and browns, ''New Mexico Snow Country'', 1921 In 1920, Shuster moved to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

to improve his health and became friends with the small but growing arts community. Shuster made money doing ironwork and painting to supplement the pension. In 1921, he became a member of

Los Cinco Pintores Los Cinco Pintores ("The Five Painters") was a group of early 20th-century artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico that included Will Shuster, Fremont Ellis, Walter Mruk, Jozef Bakos, and Willard Nash. By 1921, Shuster, Ellis, Mruk, Bakos, and Nash had a ...

("the five painters"), and showed throughout Santa Fe and the rest of the country with the group.

Oeuvre

alt=portrait of a man with arms crossed holding a pipe in the left hand, ''Portrait of John Sloan'', 1928 His artwork is in the permanent collections of the

Stark Museum of Art The Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, houses one of the nation's most significant collections of American Western art. The Western Art collection conveys the artistic interpretation of the western region over two centuries. It spans the explo ...

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown ...

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

Newark Museum The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, A ...

, and

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

. * undated — ''Senator

Bronson Cutting Bronson Murray Cutting (June 23, 1888May 6, 1935) was a United States senator from New Mexico. A prominent progressive Republican, he had also been a newspaper publisher and military attaché. Biography Bronson Cutting was born in Great River, ...

'' (bronze bust) * undated — ''

Avanyu Avanyu (also Awanyu), is a Tewa deity, the guardian of water. Represented as a horned or plumed serpent with curves suggestive of flowing water or the zig-zag of lightning, Awanyu appears on the walls of caves located high above canyon rivers in ...

1'' * undated — ''Avanyu 2'' * undated — ''Prayer for the Hunt'' * undated — ''Portrait of Teresa Bakos'' * undated — ''40th Wedding Anniversary'' * 1921 — ''New Mexico Snow Country'' * October 1922 — ''The Eve of Saint Francis'' * 1924 —

Zozobra The Zozobra (also known as "Old Man Gloom") is a giant marionette effigy constructed of wood, wire and cotton cloth that is built and burned prior to the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It stands high. As i ...

, a giant puppet now burned every year in effigy, and symbolizing the gloom of the passing year. * 1927 — ''New Mexico Mountain Scene'' * 1928 — ''Portrait of

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight. He is best known ...

'' * 1929 —''The

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

- Corn Dance'' * — ''Trees at Canyoncito'' * — ''Eagle Dancer'' (study for ''The Voice of the Sky'') * 1934 — ''

Winnowing Winnowing is a process by which chaff is separated from grain. It can also be used to remove pests from stored grain. Winnowing usually follows threshing in grain preparation. In its simplest form, it involves throwing the mixture into th ...

Wheat'' * May 28 - August 8, 1934 — ''The Voice of the Earth (The Basket Dance)'' * 1934 — ''Pottery Maker'' * May 28 - August 28, 1934 — ''The Voice of the Water (The Spring Flute Ceremony)'' * 1934 — ''Sermon at

Cross of the Martyrs The Cross of the Martyrs refers to either of two cross-shaped monuments erected in the 20th century in Santa Fe, New Mexico, commemorating the deaths of 21 Catholic clergy during the Pueblo Revolt (the named 'martyrs'). The earlier of the two w ...

'' * 1935 — ''The Voice of

Sipapu A (a Hopi language, Hopi word) was a small hole or indentation in the floor of a (pithouse). Kivas were used by the Ancestral Puebloans and continue to be used by modern-day Pueblo people, Puebloans. The symbolizes the portal through which th ...

(The Kiva)'' * — ''Sketchbook'' * September 14 - October 12, 1943 — ''The Voice of the Sky (The Eagle Dance)'' * 1949 — ''Untitled (Deer Dance)'' * 1952 — ''El Toro'', a symbol for the Santa Fe Rodeo. * 1964 — ''

Mural''

Notes and references

External links

Will Shuster at New Mexico Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuster, Will category:1893 births category:1969 deaths category:20th-century American male artists category:20th-century American painters category:artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico category:Drexel University alumni category:Federal Art Project artists category:Public Works of Art Project artists category:United States Army personnel of World War I