Rio Grande Valley,Alcalde
David Noble
Created : 1991
Donated : 1994
Medium : Photography
Dimensions: 21 inx28 in
Located: 3rd Floor,Southeast Hallway
The petroglyphs of handprints in the foreground of Rio Grande Valley, El Huique, are reminders of the long Native American history in the valley. The river has been winding through the ancient cottonwoods for a million years. Horses grazing in a meadow belong to local Hispanic farmers whose ancestors may have moved here in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. In the distance, rain clouds gather, portending a coming storm.
David Grant Noble came to New Mexico in 1971 and became immersed in southwestern prehistory when he was hired as photographer on a major archaeological project near Santa Fe. This experience led to his writing and illustrating Ancient Ruins of the Southwest: An Archaeological Guide and editing a series of other books, including New Light on Chaco Canyon and Santa Fe: History of an Ancient City. In 1994, Noble’s Pueblos, Villages, Forts and Trails: A Guide to New Mexico’s Past was published.
In addition to Noble’s extensive research and work in the Southwest’s cultural history, he has been active as a fine art photographer. His photographs focus on the region’s landscape with its wealth of Indian ruins and rock art. His art can be seen in galleries in New Mexico as well as across the country. Noble’s mission to preserve New Mexico’s ancient monuments and ruins through his art is profoundly expressed in his own words:
“In an age such as our own, when the pace of external change often exceeds our ability to adapt, ancient ruins can have more than a purely scenic or romantic appeal. Ruins are time anchors, giving substance to an elusive past. They are also the headstones, if you will, of deceased cultures. Ruins memorialize the successes and failures of our predecessors and remind us of the mortality of civilization.”
