Canoncito, New Mexico (1990–91)
Gelatin Silver Print
Ford Robbins (1942–2015)
Santa Fe
Gift of the Artist
Capitol Art Collection, Capitol Art Foundation
Ford Robbins studied government and law before pursuing private studies in photography and attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Robbins came to New Mexico in 1988.
“I live in harsh terrain. I photograph the rocky, rough and desolate places of my home. I look for essences, touchstones, symbols in my rugged landscape, because I find that they define this terrain more clearly than the broader view. By abstracting landscape detail I remind people of familiar places in an unfamiliar and unsettling way. I use silver ‘black and white’ materials predominately because I find that through the broader control and choices such materials provide, I have a better chance to allow my objective to succeed.”
About the Artist: Ford Robbins
Ford Robbins was an American photographer known for his evocative black-and-white images of New Mexico’s stark and rugged terrain. Trained originally in government and law, Robbins turned to photography later in life, pursuing it with a sense of philosophical inquiry and visual discipline. His landscape photography isolates abstracted elements—rock textures, broken earth, shadow forms—imbuing them with metaphorical and emotional weight.
His use of gelatin silver printing underscores his preference for high tonal contrast and material control. Robbins sought to depict landscapes not as vistas, but as interior meditations—fragments that challenge perception and memory. His work is included in the Capitol Art Collection as part of New Mexico’s contemporary photographic legacy.
