During his time in Nevada in the 1930s, Maynard Dixon turned his attention to the geological formations of the American Southwest. Overlooking the desert, a steep, rocky cone dominates the scene. Shadows span the foreground, creating stark contrasts throughout that draw attention to the white channels and harder red stones tumbling down from the peak. Across a flat expanse and along the distant horizon, a range of mountains stretches against a blue sky, white clouds resting just behind them. This painting captures a specific time of day in 1934 yet reveals millions of years of geological history and change.
Once part of an active volcano, this rugged cone has been dormant for millions of years and remains a staunch landmark in the terrain it once helped to create. Once covered in overlapping flows of hot lava but now hardened stone, once sizable but now weathered away, the volcanic stones proved to be an appealing subject for Dixon. Though Dixon was originally in Nevada to document the advanced engineering and construction of Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam) for the Public Works of Art Project, the grandeur of this volcanic cone remained indisputable for the artist. In contrast to the mere five years it took to construct Boulder Dam, Volcanic Cones (Boulder Nevada) focuses instead on the vast geological timeline of the desert.
The MOA is grateful to Dr. Jani Radebaugh for her generous insights. For further reading, see Ann M. Wolfe et al., Sagebrush and Solitude: Maynard Dixon in Nevada (Rizzoli Electa; in association with Nevada Museum of Art, 2024).
