In the Foothills

Rising from the flat Kansas-country plains, a craggy mesa dominates this bright landscape by Birger Sandzén, a Swedish-born painter who spent most of his life in America's heartland. The rock formation is anything but dull brown. Sandzén filled it with purples, blues, pinks, and warm oranges, layering them on with thick, energetic dabs of paint. Overhead, enormous white clouds pile up against a blue sky, while the fields below stretch out in ribbons of green and gold. His approach reminds many people of Van Gogh and Cézanne, painters who believed that color and feeling counted for more than careful detail.

Sandzén made his living teaching for decades at a small college in Kansas, but he never stopped traveling to sketch the big scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest. Scenes like this one gave him room to explore the boldness he loved most. He hoped his work would pass along the pure delight of standing outdoors in a beautiful place, and this cheerful, glowing view of the foothills does just that.