Emil Bisttram immigrated to the United States in 1902 and studied at the National Academy of Design before joining the artists' colony at Taos in 1931. The following year, he established the Taos School of Fine Arts, where, in the years leading up to the World War II, Bisttram advocated a form of abstract painting based on an intellectual formula of "dynamic symmetry," popularized by Canadian theoretician Jay Hambidge. The early works from Taos depict the native population in a representational style and reflect Bisttram's training as a graphic artist. The simple forms and strong linear quality of Pueblo Woman also recall the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, with whom Bisttram briefly studied.

Excerpt from

Sue Canterbury, DMA label text, 2013

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