Douglas Keats (1948 – )
Western artist Douglas Keats has created a compelling and thorough photographic record of the adobe churches of New Mexico, Lumière is pleased to feature this four volume collection of images.

Artist statement from New Mexico Churches, 1987.

These hand built adobe churches are the geographic and spiritual center of each Hispanic village in New Mexico. In the northern part of the state these churches exist mainly in the remote mountain valleys. To the south they are found in the small communities nestled quietly along the Rio Grande. Follow an unmarked dirt road and often it will lead to a distant village that is as it was over a century ago.

Upon encountering these serene places one recognizes the proud heritage, so steeped in tradition, that is reflected in the hand constructed walls of each village church. Serving more than a singular religious function, these humble yet magnificent structures symbolize the grace and strength of a people who have long struggled and survived in this region. Here illuminated in the refined light of the southwestern desert and far removed from the mainstream of America, is a view of this country which is unique to New Mexico. – Doug Keats

The work of Douglas Keats is featured in these exhibitions.

(Select the image to view the exhibition page)

Variations on a Theme

Contrasts

The work of Douglas Keats is featured in these Theme Collections.

(Select the image to view the theme page)

American West

Architecture – B&W

Grolier Club Exhibition - New York City

Rare Douglas Keats Fresson Print To Be Shown

The Grolier Club, the oldest American society dedicated to book arts, will host an exhibition titled, The Grolier Club Collects II, from December 9, 2015-February 6, 2016, at the club’s headquarters in Manhattan. Each participating Grolier Club member is contributing one work of art on paper to the exhibition.READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Douglas Keats, Ranchos de Taos, Fresson Print

Lumière’s contribution is a rare Fresson print of the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church at Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, by artist Douglas Keats. Visitors are welcome to attend the exhibition, it is free and open to the public, at 47 E 60th St, New York, NY 10065.

The Fresson process is a complicated, proprietary method of printing using charcoal papers, which are made exclusively in a French workshop by the grandson and great-grandson of the original inventor Theodore Henri Fresson. Douglas Keats is one of a select group of artists who work with the Fesson family.

Closer to home, this summer, Lumière participated in a Grolier exhibition at the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University’s Candler School, which was held in honor of Grolier member David Parsons.

Two separate micro exhibitions at the Pitts Library illustrated the varied religious sanctuaries in two very different geographic regions: English colonies with ready ocean access in the East and the land locked Spanish settlements that occupied the Native American lands to the West.

Master Photographer Tim Barnwell photographed coastal churches and synagogues over a two-year period as part of a commissioned project to record major elements of the Southern Heritage. More of Barnwell’s work can be see at his Lumière artist page. Barwell is based in Asheville, NC, and is the author of three books on life and traditions in Appalachia. Contemporary photographer Douglas Keats photographed the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church in the 1980s as part of a larger series on New Mexican churches. Keats was drawn to these hand-built adobe churches because they are the geographic and spiritual center of each Hispanic Village in the state.

The Grolier Club was formed in 1884 when New York printing press manufacturer and book collector Robert Hoe invited eight fellow bibliophiles to his home to discuss the formation of a club devoted to the book arts. The Club’s mission is outlined in its constitution: “The object of the Grolier Club is to foster the study, collecting, and appreciation of books and works on paper, their art, history, production, and commerce. It shall pursue this mission through the maintenance of a library devoted to all aspects of the book and graphic arts and especially bibliography; through the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage the book and graphic arts; through exhibitions and educational programs for its members and the general public.”

Club exhibitions and events are open to the public, and the collection is available to scholars and amateur bibliophiles for research.