Sheldon Parsons

As a young man, Sheldon Parsons studied art at the National Academy of Design. From 1895 to 1912 he was a successful portrait artist in New York City and painted portraits for well known sitters including President McKinley and Susan B. Anthony. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1913 where he fell in love with the colors of the landscape and regional architecture. He became one of the earliest resident artists of Santa and was known for his impressionist landscapes. He became the first director of the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art in 1918, where a number of his paintings are a part of the museum's permanent collection.