Chance Encounter

Gene's gentle portrayal of the horses grabs our eye first, before we begin to comprehend the role human figures play in this composition.

This artist employed tonal wipe to shade some of the figures, the background and edges of each horse's neck.  This technique was used by none other than Rembrandt most effectively.

In 1903 in Oakland, California, Alice Geneva Glasier, known today by her pen name Gene Kloss, was born. A lover of New Mexico, Kloss is remembered not only for her etchings and paintings but her continual fight to break gender boundaries -- Kloss being the only female National Academician in graphics in 1972. 

Kloss's intellect was made readily apparent shortly after launching her career. Of Kloss, Art News wrote, "Gene Kloss is one of our most sensitive and sympathetic interpreters of the Southwest." In 1924, she received her BA from the University of California. Following her graduation, she married poet Phillips Kloss and later studied at the California School of Fine Arts (1924-1925). By 1929, she and her husband had become permanent residents of Taos.

In 1938 Gene Kloss' work was exhibited in Paris as a leading New Mexican artist alongside Blumenschein, O'Keeffe and Sloan. She was best known for her New Mexico landscapes and genre scenes illustrating activities in the lives of Pueblo Indians.

Unafraid of experimentation, Kloss went on to develop her own etching technique. The technique, wherein acid is painted atop an etching plate, brings out a broader spectrum of color tones. To garner respect for her work and techniques, Kloss used "Gene" -- the masculine form of Geneva --  when signing her artwork, seeking to avoid prejudices of gender.

By the end of her 70 years working as an artist, Kloss completed more than 600 works. Her work has been exhibited in such collections as The Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Newly published is a two volume catalogue raisonne delineating each of Kloss's prints with accompanying photographs.  (1903-1996)