William Lumpkins
William Lumpkins (1909-2000) was an artist and architect best known for his abstract watercolors and pioneering solar adobe architecture. He was born on a ranch near Clayton, New Mexico. His early life was dominated by hard work, and he received a sporadic early education. A childhood tutor taught him about Zen Buddhism, which made a lasting impact on his life and artwork.
In the late 1910’s, the family moved to Springville, Arizona. As an 8-year-old, Lumpkins caught sight of an artist passionately working in his studio and was inspired to follow the same path. In 1924 the family relocated again to Lincoln County, New Mexico. Lumpkins attended high school in Roswell. There he met artist Peter Hurd (1904-1984) and writer Paul Horgan, who would be influential artistic mentors.
“Peter was a grand friend,” Lumpkins said of Hurd. “He was so supportive of me and my early work. I was only working in pencil and paper—I didn’t have a pen at that time—but Pete would examine each of my primitive efforts and would critique each and every one as if they were masterpieces. More than anyone, before or since, Peter Hurd was the one person who helped me see with the eye of an artist.”
In 1927, Lumpkins took his first trip to Santa Fe with Hurd. Two years later he graduated from high school and enrolled at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. There he studied painting under Neil Hogner and took architecture classes from Irwin Parsons. He also met young artists Cady Wells and Andrew Dasburg, who taught him about nonrepresentational painting. During the summers, the artist recalled working feverishly throughout the day “as if possessed”. (Read More)
