It's frustrating when I occasionally run across one of my grandfather Pierre Ménager's paintings up for auction at e-bay. I always seem to arrive too late to bid! Here's a beauty from 1943 -- a watercolor of a crowded Santa Fe street scene. Everyone seems so busy, from the sailor home on leave, the dark-hatted men striding briskly or lounging against walls, to the zaftig women bustling across the street. The signs are lit up like a Friday night, offering food, drink, a place to cash checks, and for the sober, The Faith Café (just behind the Pabst sign!). It's interesting to compare this one to another painting he did of the Zuni Shalako Ceremony -- both paintings share the same exuberant street activity, diminishing to a point at the distant center of the painting -- which is an image of a sacred place, whether church, or a trio of Zuni gods. I love the way he infuses the ordinary material world, its humor and humanity, with the divine.
You can see closeups of the details at the e-bay site (for at least as long as it's up) here. Also, clicking this image will open a larger view of the painting.