Wilson Hurley was born in Tulsa, OK, although he spent several years of his young life in Washington, D.C. His family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1935, where he attended high school.
A graduate of West Point in 1945, Hurley practiced law for 14 years in the Albuquerque area. He also had attained an engineering degree and worked at Sandia National Laboratories 1958-1960. In 1965 he became a full-time painter, a passion he had had since boyhood.
Wilson Hurley received many distinguished awards for his artwork. His artwork was well-known and loved by all. He painted in the luminist style of the American west. Collectors are well aware of his wonderful grasp of the colors and light and the way they play on the mountains of the Southwest.
In 1991 he painted 5 murals depicting the beautiful landscapes of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, California and Wyoming for the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. In 1996 he created dioramas, 15 paintings depicting sunsets over an iconic American vista…also for the Cowboy Hall of Fame. The dioramas together measured 2876 square feet.
Unfortunately, Wilson Hurley passed on in 2008 of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He seemed to be a gentle, thoughtful man who saw beauty in the world and considered it a privilege to catch it on canvases to share with all of us. He is greatly missed!
If you would like to see a video which he participated in, try this link.
Wilson Hurley was born in Tulsa, OK, although he spent several years of his young life in Washington, D.C. His family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1935, where he attended high school.
A graduate of West Point in 1945, Hurley practiced law for 14 years in the Albuquerque area. He also had attained an engineering degree and worked at Sandia National Laboratories 1958-1960. In 1965 he became a full-time painter, a passion he had had since boyhood.
Wilson Hurley received many distinguished awards for his artwork. His artwork was well-known and loved by all. He painted in the luminist style of the American west. Collectors are well aware of his wonderful grasp of the colors and light and the way they play on the mountains of the Southwest.
In 1991 he painted 5 murals depicting the beautiful landscapes of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, California and Wyoming for the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. In 1996 he created dioramas, 15 paintings depicting sunsets over an iconic American vista…also for the Cowboy Hall of Fame. The dioramas together measured 2876 square feet.
Unfortunately, Wilson Hurley passed on in 2008 of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He seemed to be a gentle, thoughtful man who saw beauty in the world and considered it a privilege to catch it on canvases to share with all of us. He is greatly missed!
If you would like to see a video which he participated in, try this link.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1474953479/
Don’t let the title (“The Art of Growing Older”) discourage you from watching it! It’s about the artist as he or she ages, and it is excellent!
