Peter Hurd, The Fence Builders

Peter Hurd (1904-1984) was married to Henriette Wyeth. Yes, THAT Henriette Wyeth. However, if he was at all intimidated by the prospect of being folded into such a preeminent artistic dynasty, it certainly does not show in his work. If anything, according to Andrew, who was twelve when his older sister and Peter were married, the awe ran in the other direction. In his introduction to "Peter Hurd - The Lithographs", Andrew said, "He (Peter) could so easily have been a brother-in-law that turned away my youthful admiration, but he did not. I admired his horsemanship, his stories of faraway New Mexico, his dash, his vitality, in short, I made a pest of myself." Hurd painted this, one of his more well-known works, in 1954. Every time I see it, I am struck by how much my home state of Montana still looks exactly like this scene today. From the eternal sky to the cowboy boots, the fence building in this picture could have happened yesterday...down the road from my house. I'm sure all of this beautiful emptiness that surrounds me won't last forever, and I'm ok with that. I just try to remind myself to appreciate it while it lasts.