William Howard Shuster
Encyclopedia
William Howard Shuster was an American
artist
. He arrived in New Mexico
in the early twentieth century as one of the first wave of white artists who came to paint but stayed on to help build the arts community. As one of the members of Los Cincos Pintores ("the five painters") who showed throughout Santa Fe
, Shuster was instrumental in creating the arts movement now known as Santa Fe Style. In 1924 he built and burned the first ever Zozobra
, a municipal deity now burned every year in effigy, and symbolizing the gloom of the passing year.
An interesting account of the early beginnings of Los Cinco Pintures can be read in Nicholas & Helena Roerich, The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers by Ruth A. Drayer. The Roerichs were a Russian couple who visited Santa Fe in 1921 and encouraged the five painters to band together to support their artistic expressions.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. He arrived in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in the early twentieth century as one of the first wave of white artists who came to paint but stayed on to help build the arts community. As one of the members of Los Cincos Pintores ("the five painters") who showed throughout Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, Shuster was instrumental in creating the arts movement now known as Santa Fe Style. In 1924 he built and burned the first ever Zozobra
Zozobra
Zozobra is the name of a giant marionette effigy which is built and burned every autumn during Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, usually during the second week of September. As his name suggests, he embodies gloom; by burning him, people destroy the worries and troubles of the previous...
, a municipal deity now burned every year in effigy, and symbolizing the gloom of the passing year.
An interesting account of the early beginnings of Los Cinco Pintures can be read in Nicholas & Helena Roerich, The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers by Ruth A. Drayer. The Roerichs were a Russian couple who visited Santa Fe in 1921 and encouraged the five painters to band together to support their artistic expressions.