William Howard Shuster Jr. (1893–1969) was an American painter, sculptor and teacher.

Early life

Shuster was born November 26, 1893, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, as the second of three children.

Career

He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in France, where he developed tuberculosis after being gassed. In 1920, Shuster moved to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

in 1920 to improve his health, and became friends with the small but growing arts community. In 1921, he became a members of

Los Cinco Pintores Los Cinco Pintores ("The Five Painters") was a group of early 20th-century artists in Santa Fe, New Mexico that included Will Shuster, Fremont Ellis, Walter Mruk, Jozef Bakos, and Willard Nash. By 1921, Shuster, Ellis, Mruk, Bakos, and Nash had ...

("the five painters"), and showed throughout Santa Fe and the rest of the country as a group. In 1924 Shuster built and burned the first ever

Zozobra The Zozobra (also known as "Old Man Gloom") is a giant marionette effigy constructed of wood, wire and cotton cloth that is built and burned prior to the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It stands high. As it ...

, a giant puppet now burned every year in effigy, and symbolizing the gloom of the passing year. In addition to painting, Shuster received a disability pension and made money doing ironwork. In 1952, he created El Toro, a symbol for the Santa Fe Rodeo. His artwork is in the permanent collections of the

Stark Museum of Art The Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, houses one of the nation's most significant collections of American Western art. The Western Art collection conveys the artistic interpretation of the western region over two centuries. It spans the explo ...

, Brooklyn Museum,

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

Newark Museum The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, A ...

, and

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

Notes and references

External links

Will Shuster at New Mexico Museum of Art
1893 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters [Artists_from_Santa_Fe,_New_Mexico Drexel_University_alumni.html" ;"title="ategory:Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico">[Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Drexel University alumni">ategory:Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico">[Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Drexel University alumni Federal Art Project artists Public Works of Art Project artists United States Army personnel of World War I {{US-painter-stub