Walter Mruk Explained

Walter Mruk (1883–1942) was an American painter who was a member of Los Cinco Pintores a group of artists who worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the early twentieth century.

Mruk was born Wladyslaw Mruk^{[1] [2]} in Buffalo, New York to parents of Polish descent. He studied at the Albright Art Institute. By 1920 he had relocated to Santa Fe, where he worked as a forest ranger, and also as a cartoonist for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.

In 1924–1925, Mruk and fellow painter, Will Shuster travelled to Carlsbad Caverns on a painting adventure before the cave system was established as a national park. They painted in the caverns using lantern light. Mruk's work from this series was described in 1925 in the magazine, El Palacio:

One of Mruk's paintings from this series is housed in Denver Art Museum.

Collections

His work is held in the collections of the Denver Art Museum,^[3] the Roswell Museum,^[4] the New Mexico Museum of Art,^[5] among other venues.

See also

• Santa Fe art colony
• Taos Society of Artists

Notes and References

1. Book: Udall . Sharon Rohlfsen . Santa Fe art colony, 1900-1942: July 17-August 8, 1987, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico . 1987 . Gerald Peters Gallery . 9780935037159 . 15 . 2 July 2023.
2. Book: Poling-Kempes . Lesley . Ladies of the Canyons A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest . 2015 . University of Arizona Press . 9780816524945 . 255 . 2 July 2023.
3. Web site: The Ghosts of Carlsbad Caverns (1924-1925) . Denver Art Museum . 2 July 2023.
4. Web site: Art Collection . Roswell Museum . 2 July 2023.
5. Web site: Walter Mruk . New Mexico Museum of Art . 2 July 2023.