Andrew Michael Dasburg
(1887-1979)

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Andrew Michael Dasburg was an American modernist painter and an influential force in popularizing cubism and synchromism in America. Dasburg was born in France and lived in Germany before immigrating to New York City with his family at the age of five. Dasburg showed talent in art from an early age and was awarded a scholarship to take courses at the Art Students League of New York. As a student, artists Kenyon Cox and Birge Harrison instructed Dasburg.

By 1909 Dasburg was a part of the modernist circle, and returned to Paris to work alongside Morgan Russell, Arthur Lee and Jo Davidson. Dasburg was introduced to prominent artists and writers like Henri Matisse and Gertrude Stein. Dasburg became increasingly influenced by the cubist style and work of the French painter, Cézanne. On a short trip to England Dasburg married a sculptor named Grace Mott Johnson.

Dasburg and Johnson returned to the United States and became a part of the artist community in Woodstock, New York. Dasburg returned to New York City frequently for exhibitions. In 1911 Dasburg showed at the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show. Dasburg’s cubist paintings shocked Americans and gained immediate attention. During the following years Dasburg showed at Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 Gallery. During this time Dasburg was known for experimenting with Synchromism, a movement much like cubism that emphasized the use of vibrant colors. Synchromism was meant to evoke the sensation of listening to music through chords of color rather than musical notes.

In 1918 Dasburg made a major life change, by separating from his wife and moving to New Mexico. Dasburg initially went to Taos, and then relocated to Santa Fe in 1921. Dasburg continued to paint with fervor and was able to integrate both the cubist aesthetic and the desert landscape into his work. In 1936 Dasburg married the poet Mary Channing Wister, with whom he lived for the rest of his live.

Dasburg made a great impression on the art scene in New York and in the southwest. After his death, the Fine Arts Museum in Santa Fe held an extensive retrospective of his work, which travelled to four other Southwestern states. Dasburg’s work is now in the collections of major collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Do you think you own a painting by Dasburg? Contact us. We are the experts on Andrew Michael Dasburg.