Wild Horse Creek

Birger Sandzén poured pure energy into "Wild Horse Creek," a scene that turns a rugged canyon into something almost musical. Born in Sweden and settled in Kansas, Sandzén came to adore the wide, rocky landscapes of the American Midwest and spent years painting canyons, prairies, and rivers just like this one. The whole surface is built from thick, chunky dabs of paint stacked in greens, golds, purples, and blues, a method that shimmers with the influence of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. His swirling, loaded brushwork owes an obvious debt to Van Gogh, which earned him the nickname "the Van Gogh of the Prairie."

Color is really the star of the show. Sandzén refused to paint the cliffs as plain brown and tan, giving them violet shadows and warm yellow highlights instead, while a cluster of trees near the center erupts in bright, restless green. He was convinced that nature brimmed with color for anyone willing to see it, and he wanted people to sense the heat of the sun and the openness of the air. For over fifty years he taught at a small college in Lindsborg, Kansas, passing his enthusiasm to students while building a reputation that spread well beyond the plains.