Desert Still Life

Leon Gilmour

Latvian-born Lleon Gilmour first took art lessons at the School of Practical Art in Boston, where his family had emigrated when he was a child. Intent on heading west to continue his studies, he spent a few years traveling the Southwestern United States working odd jobs at ranches and gold mines to earn enough money for his eventual arrival in California. This time greatly influenced his work throughout his career and he often strove to portray his observations of the starkly beautiful desertscape he called home for a brief time.

Known for his sweeping, stark desert landscapes, here Gilmour has chosen to portray a more intimate scene. He captures the subtle contrast of life and death in a portrait of a sun-bleached horse skull and the small cacti growing beside it. Aside from the patterns in the bone, no additional textures are used, and only a simple black shape provides the contrasting backdrop for the objects.