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Artwork of the Week

Artwork of the Week: December 20, 2021

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946),Christmas Eve Procession, Tacos New Mexico, 1931, oil on canvasboard, 15 15/16 x 19 3/4 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1937.

Worshippers walk in procession, silhouetted against the walls of the old Taos Pueblo. The surrounding crowd and the spectators on the walls watch as the Nativity is reenacted in a traditional celebration blending Christian and Native American customs. The snow in the foreground shimmers softly in the firelight. Dixon’s hushed scene, with its ethereal shadows and solemn figures, exudes a singular aura of reverence. Maynard Dixon and his family spent several months in the art center of Taos, New Mexico, and witnessed this celebration in 1931. Dixon produced many paintings and sketches during this time, including landscapes and character studies of local people.