Louis Catusco

A Navy veteran from World War II, Louis Catusco used his GI Bill benefits to study art at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in the 1940's. Of all the mystics, poets, eccentrics and visionaries among the Taos Moderns, Louis is the most enigmatic. In 1950 he came to Taos to work with Louis Ribak at the Taos Valley Art School, settling here permanently in 1963. After winning many awards, both local and state, Louis dropped out of the Taos art scene to continue his work in solitude.

 A painter, an enigma, and a beloved member of the Taos Moderns, Louis Catusco (1927-1995) was free and sophisticated in his use of the decisive played against the happy accident. He continued to evolve with each successive canvas, provoking the eye and stimulating the intellect, completely ignoring the "flea market" approach of most galleries at the time. Catusco remained a genuine individual throughout his life.

In his last years, Catusco became even more removed from society, limiting his contact with the public to occasional letters to the editor of The Taos News. A pack of unusually vicious dogs further insured his privacy. He passed away in 1995 in Taos, NM.

Sources:
The Taos News, Thursday, July 7, 1988: Arts Elusive Minimalist Honored with a Memorial at Harwood, by Linda Tasch
"Modernists in Taos from Dasburg to Martin", by David L. Witt