The construction of New Mexican identity around three primary cultural/ethnic groups emerged at the turn of the 20th century and gained traction with the campaign for statehood (achieved in 1912). It matured in the New Deal era given the federal government’s interest in developing a uniquely American identity through art. The tri-cultural myth creates a rich and distinctive cultural legacy for New Mexico and, by extension, the United States (while conveniently bypassing historical complexities and ethical considerations).
The ideology of tri-culturalism is espoused in the bulk of the artwork produced by the New Mexico Federal Art Project (FAP)—in the decorative arts that furnish public buildings, the buildings themselves, and large-scale murals that fill public spaces. These works carry the load of the state’s visual culture, largely shaping public consciousness, and, as this section will highlight, they frequently embody the tri-cultural myth.
The myth of tri-culturalism is also incorporated in the NM FAP’s promotion of the regional Western American art style developed by the Taos and Santa Fe art colonies in the early 1900s. Early 20th century Western American art mainly depicted landscapes as untamed and Indigenous cultures and peoples as untouched, perpetuating a romanticized, timeless, and harmonious view of New Mexico central to the tri-cultural myth.
In order to fully understand how the production of art under the NM FAP subscribes to and reinforces tri-culturalism ideology, it is necessary to recognize the racial and class biases at play in its employment practices. The New Deal distinguished between “fine art” and “craft,” employing artists differently along those lines. Fine artists employed to create singular works of art for exhibition and display were mostly Anglo artists with formal training. Those whom the New Deal considered to be less skilled craftspeople were mostly self-taught artists of color, and they were hired to labor in workshops fabricating decorative arts such as furniture. (For further discussion of this topic, refer to the New Deal Nuevomexicano & Decorative Arts Special Exhibit.)
The interior decoration of the historic McKinley County Courthouse continues the ode to the tri-cultural myth formulated by its exterior design. The first floor, pictured above, is adorned with Spanish Colonial tinwork light fixtures, Navajo sandpainting-style wall paintings, and tilework that interprets the pattern of a Navajo wedding basket. The scheme is a remixing of different customs of visual culture—sandpainting designs as wallpaper, basketry designs as wainscoting—in a full embrace of the fantasy of tri-cultural harmony.
Inside the historic courthouse is a monumental statement of tri-culturalism in the form of a 2,000-square-foot mural by the artist Lloyd Moylan, painted in 1940.
The historic McKinley County Courthouse presents one of the clearest expressions of tri-cultural ideology in the Gallup New Deal art collection. Three of the four facades of this building are designed to each refer to one of the three cultural groups identified by the ideology. The T-shaped doorway and small, unadorned, rectangular windows of the south façade are inspired by Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, the east side references a Spanish Colonial mission church with a bell gable and bell tower, and the north façade incorporates a neo-classical column and portico with Art Deco motifs.
The use of the tri-cultural myth in the historic courthouse—a government building and one of the tallest buildings in Gallup at the time it was constructed—is significant. It indicates the myth’s hold on the popular imagination and cements the New Mexico Federal Art Project’s adherence to it.
Gallup’s New Deal art collection consists of over 120 objects created, purchased, or donated from 1933 to 1942 through New Deal federal art programs administered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to support artists during the Great Depression.
The Gallup New Deal Art Virtual Museum features three types of exhibits, combining traditional and non-traditional approaches to illuminate academic, creative, and individual understandings.
Gallup’s New Deal art collection includes works by a demographically, professionally, and stylistically diverse group of named and unnamed artists.
Image Use Notice: Images of Gallup’s New Deal artworks are available to be used for educational purposes only. Non-collection images are subject to specific restrictions and identified by a © icon. Hover over the icon for copyright info. Read more
