Albert Lujan (1892–1948), also known as Xenaiua meaning "Weasel Arrow," was a genre and landscape painter from

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico Taos Pueblo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Taos County, New Mexico, just north of Taos. The population was 1,264 at the 2000 census. Geography Taos Pueblo is located at (36.448735, -105.553979). Rio Pueblo de Taos passes through Tao ...

Three Taos Pueblo painters

Albert Looking Elk, Albert Lujan, and

Juan Mirabal Juan Mirabal (1903 – 1981), also known as "Tapaiu" or Red Dancer, was an artist from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. Three Taos Pueblo painters Albert Looking Elk, Albert Lujan, and Juan Mirabal have been identified as the "Three Taos Pueblo" pa ...

have been identified as the "Three Taos Pueblo" painters. As the

Taos art colony The Taos art colony was an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico, by artists attracted by the culture of the Taos Pueblo and northern New Mexico. The history of Hispanic craftsmanship in furniture, tin work, and other mediums also played a rol ...

grew, these men studied oil and watercolor painting and made works of art of their community, told from a Native American perspective. An exhibition of their work "Three Pueblo Painters" was held at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos January 24 – April 20, 2003.

Taos Pueblo

Located in a tributary valley off the Rio Grande,

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest ...

is the most northern of the

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 ...

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

s. For nearly a

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the Taos Indians have lived here. It is estimated that the pueblo was built between 1000 and 1450 CE, with some later expansion. The Taos Pueblo is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The Pueblo, at some places five stories high, is a combination of many individual homes with common walls. There are over 1,900 people in the Taos pueblo community. Some of them have more modern homes near their fields and stay at their homes on the pueblo during cooler weather. There are about 150 people who live at the pueblo year-around. The Taos Pueblo was added as an

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1992 as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world; Other sites include the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Great Pyramids The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of ...

and the Grand Canyon in the United States. For centuries, Pueblo painters have painted in tempera, clay slips, and earth pigments on woven textiles, interior walls, ceramics, and hides. Looking Elk, Albert Lujan, and Juan Mirabal adopted and mastered European painting materials and techniques.

The beginning of his artistic career

Lujan started his adulthood as a farmer. He was also a church deacon. One day Lujan painted a landscape near the church where he had been doing some maintenance. A visitor noticed his painting on a scrap board and appreciated his work. He bought Lujan some painting supplies and purchased one or more of the resulting paintings.

Professional career

Albert Lujan, largely self-taught, began painting around 1915. Throughout his career, he made over 2,000 oil and watercolor paintings."Weasel Arrow."
''Ask Art''. (retrieved 1 June 2011) His hallmark was a drawing of an arrow. Lujan enjoyed painted in the

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

(open air) on the plaza. Often customers would purchase paintings they had seen painted. His sole source of inspiration and subject matter for his starkly realistic paintings was the Taos Pueblo village. The paintings were small souvenirs, sold for a modest price. As he was painting, his nephew, Bobby Lujan, a later famous hoop dancer, would charge visitors for his hoop dance performances. Whether Lujan painted the pueblo with or without people, there was little or no movement, portraying a timeless snapshot.

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