Second Wave: The Beginning of a Post-War Era
OPENING RECEPTION:
5 - 7 PM | Saturday, September 13, 2025
203 Fine Art is pleased to present Second Wave: The Beginning of a Post-War Era, an exhibition exploring the enduring impact artists supported by the GI Bill had on the evolving artistic scene of Taos, New Mexico, in the years following World War II.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944—better known as the GI Bill—provided returning veterans with unprecedented access to higher education, professional training, and resources for reintegration into civilian life. For artists, it opened doors to study at prestigious institutions across the country and abroad. Art schools flourished in the region during this period, including the Mandelman-Ribak Taos Valley Arts School, the Bisttram School of Fine Art, and the University of New Mexico’s Summer Field School of Art.
The Second Wave artists not only advanced Modernism but also infused it with a distinctive spirit-- reflective, radical, and deeply connected to place. Taos, already celebrated for its luminosity and dramatic landscapes, became a magnet for these post-war innovators. Here, the “Taos Moderns” rejected Regionalism, Social Realism and commercial tropes in favor of bold abstraction and a reimagined landscape genre.
Second Wave traces the development of these veterans into internationally recognized artists living and working in New Mexico, featuring paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by Emil Bisttram, Norman Bluhm, Lawrence Calcagno, John Chamberlain, Richard Diebenkorn, Ted Egri, Robert M. Ellis, Leo Garel, Fred Hammersley, Cliff Harmon, Janet Lippincott, Beatrice Mandelman, Louis Ribak, Oli Sihvonen, Earl Stroh, and others.
This two-gallery exhibition opens at 203 Fine Art on Saturday, September 13, 2025, 5 - 7 PM, and will remain on view through November 2, 2025. The exhibition continues at our second location, Gallery 215, viewable by appointment only. For further information or to arrange a visit, please contact us at art@203fineart.com or 575.751.1262.
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Emil Bisttram1895-1976Space Abstraction, 1951signed lower rightoil on canvas88 ¼ x 78 ¼ inches
224.2 x 198.8 cm
Framed: 92 ½ x 82 inches
235 x 208.3 cm -
Richard Diebenkorn1922-1993Untitled (Albuquerque), 1951artist initials and dated lower rightwatercolor on paper11 x 14 inches
27.9 x 35.6 cm
Framed: 21 ¼ x 18 ¾ inches
Framed: 54 x 47.6 cm -
Earl Stroh1924-2005Untitled, Ranchitos Road, Taos NM, c. 1950ssigned lower left faceoil on masonite20 x 24 inches
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Andrew Dasburg1887-1979Adobes - Talpa Ridge, 1966pastel on paper18 ¼ x 23 ¾ inches
46.4 x 60.3 cm -
Janet Lippincott1918-2007Homage to Rembrandt, 1961upper rightoil on canvas38 x 58 inches
71.1 x 147.3 cm -
Louis Ribak1902-1979Canyon, c. 1950ssigned lower right rectooil on masonite48 x 60 inches
121.9 x 152.4 cm -
Beatrice Mandelman1912-1998Still Life with Fruit, 1943oil on board22 ½ x 17 inches
57.1 x 43.2 cm -
Lawrence Calcagno1913-1993Untitled , 1956oil on canvas37 ¼ x 57 inches
94.6 x 144.8 cm -
Oli Sihvonen1921-1991Duo, Red & Ochre, 1962oil on canvas34 ½ x 40 inches
87.6 x 101.6 cm -
Frederick Hammersley1919-2009Exact Change #26, 1977oil on linen34 ⅞ x 34 inches
88.6 x 86.4 cm -
Clay Spohn1898-1977Ballet of the Elements, 1952Oil on masonite19 ¾ x 27 ¾ inches
50.2 x 70.5 cm -
Norman Bluhm1921-1999Untitled (1960), 1960signed & dated lower right and versooil on paper mounted on canvas19 x 24 inches
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Emil Bisttram1895 - 1976Study for Sails in the Night, c. 1965signed lower rightgouache on board11 7/8 x 13 1/4 inchesSold
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Robert Ray1924-2002Untitled Winter Orchard, c. 1958Oil on canvas mounted on board6 ¾ x 20 inchesSold
17.1 x 50.8 cm -
Louis Catusco1927-1995Daphane Called, 1973Acrylic on board24 x 24 inches
61 x 61 cm -
Edward Corbett1919-1971Washington D.C., March, 1965, 1965oil on canvas40 x 50 inches
101.6 x 127 cm -
Lawrence Calcagno1913-1993Red Season II, 1962oil on canvas30 x 25 inches
63.5 x 76.2 cm -
Lilly Fenichel1927-2016Untitled, c. 1990ssigned lower rightoil & wax on waferboard36.5 x 36.5 inches
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Keith Crown1918-2010Ranchos de Taos II, 1986lithograph on paper13 ¾ x 19 ½ inches
34.9 x 49.5 cm2 of 15 -
Wolcott Ely1923-2004Cagnes Sur Mer, 1953tempera on paper10 x 12 ½ inches
25.4 x 31.8 cm -
Robert C. Ellis1923-1979We Find Solace, 1957Casein on paper21 ½ x 14 inches
54.6 x 35.6 cm -
Oli Sihvonen1921-1991Gemini, 1956Signed "O S" lower rightOil on masonite23 ½ x 23 ½ inches
59.7 x 59.7 cm -
John De Puy1927-2023Soul Catcher, 1956Painted in 1956 dated '66Oil on canvas24 x 30 inches
61 x 76.2 cm -
Charles Stewart1922-2011Untitled Abstract Portrait, n.g.oil / canvas on board9 ¾ x 8 inches
24.8 x 20.3 cm -
Robert M. Ellis1922-2014Bridging #1, 1957vinyl crystals with pigment17 x 17 inches
43.2 x 43.2 cm -
Robert Ray1924-2002Untitled, Cliff Dwellings, 1957oil on canvas38 x 36 inches
96.5 x 91.4 cm -
Beatrice Mandelman1912-1998Rift #7 , 1986Signed lower rightacrylic on canvas24 x 20 inches
61 x 50.8 cm -
Tom Dixonred line, 2025signed on faceoil & acrylic on masonite42 x 36 inches
42.5 x 36.5 inches panel size -
Keith Crown1918-2010Ranchos de Taos in Sangre de Cristo Mtns, 1986watercolor on paper22 ¼ x 20 ¾ inches
56.5 x 52.7 cm -
Charles Stewart1922-2011At the Spring of Toloac, 1995signed, titled and datedoil on canvas40 x 24 inches
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Leo Garel1917-1999Taos At Night (#7225), 1948oil on board30 x 36 inches
76.2 x 91.4 cm -
Lee Mullican1919-1998Universal Barque (LM.431), 1969Signed and dated versooil on canvas35 x 75 inches
88.9 x 190.5 cm -
Ted Egri1913-2010Intertwined, c. 1950smetal and plaster with patina23 x 12 ½ x 6 inches
58.4 x 31.8 x 15.2 cm -
Lee Mullican1919-1998Premiere Mirage (LM1540), 1949Signed and dated versooil on canvas20 x 30 inches
50.8 x 76.2 cm
Framed dimensions: 21 1/8 x 31 inches -
Earl Stroh(1924-2005)Requiem, c. 1954signed lower right faceoil on canvas21.5 x 18 inches
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Robert M. Ellis1922-2014Post Aegean Series No. 34, 2009signed and dated versooil on canvas24.25 x 32.25 inches
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Louis Catusco1927-1995Untitled 5, c. 1980sink on paper22 x 15 inches
55.9 x 38.1 cm -
Peter ChinniBirth, 1988bronze with black patina15 x 14 ½ x 6 inches
38.1 x 36.8 x 15.2 cm -
Leo Garel1917-1999Untitled Maine 2 (Outer Island Maine), c. 1950sGouache on paper20 x 24 inches
50.8 x 61 cm -
Wolcott Ely1923-2004For Adeine (Untitled Fiesta), 1960sacrylic on paper17 x 23.25"
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Cliff Harmon1923-2018Earth Forms No. 77, ca. 1970sAcrylic on canvas40 x 58 inches
101.6 x 147.3 cm -
Lawrence Calcagno1913-1993Landscape Without Time VIII, 1965oil on canvas48 x 52 inches
121.9 x 132.1 cm -
Peter Chinni1928-2019Column, 2019bronze with black patina18 ½ x 5 ⅛ x 5 ⅛ inches
47 x 13 x 13 cm -
Beatrice Mandelman1912-1998Space Series #8 (60-SP 1-15), ca. 1960scollage on cardboard20 x 16 inches
50.8 x 40.6 cm -
Louis Ribak1902-1979Atlantis Red Black Movement, c.1960oil on canvas39 ¾ x 31 ½ inches
101 x 80 cm -
Clay Spohn1898-1977Activated Painting with Blue, 1961oil on canvas50 x 64 inches
127 x 162.6 cm -
Robert C. Ellis1923-1979Three, 1967oil pastel on Amate bark paper ( Mexican bark paper)7 ¾ x 4 ½ inches
19.7 x 11.4 cm -
Robert C. Ellis1923-1979Two, 1967oil pastel on Amate bark paper (Mexican bark paper)7 ¾ x 4 ½ inchesSold
19.7 x 11.4 cm -
Janet Lippincott1918-2007Untitledoil and mixed media on canvas14 ¼ x 14 ¼ inches
36.2 x 36.2 cm -
Ted Egri1913-2010Aspens, ca. 1960oil with sgraffito on paper21 ½ x 9 inchesSold
54.6 x 22.9 cm -
Robert M. Ellis1922-2014Tree Series, 1962oil on paper12 x 10 inches
30.5 x 25.4 cm -
Robert C. Ellis1923-1979Phasm #4, 1978oil and graphite on linen62 x 68 inches
157.5 x 172.7 cm -
Janet Lippincott1918-2007Horserace, n.d.signed lower rightmixed media on linen18 x 18 inches
45.7 x 45.7 cm -
Robert C. Ellis1923-1979Afuera, 1967signed and dated lower rightpastel on paper
Mixed media on paper12 x 9.75 inchesSold
Related artists
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Emil Bisttram
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Norman Bluhm
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Lawrence Calcagno
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Louis Catusco
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Edward Corbett
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Keith Crown
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Andrew Dasburg
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Richard Diebenkorn
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Tom Dixon
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Ted Egri
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Robert C. Ellis
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Wolcott Ely
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Leo Garel
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Frederick Hammersley
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Cliff Harmon
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Janet Lippincott
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Beatrice Mandelman
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Lee Mullican
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John De Puy
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Robert Ray
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Louis Ribak
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Oli Sihvonen
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Clay Spohn
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Earl Stroh