The Terlingua Cemetery Artist
Honoring Miguel Ángel Argüello
In December of 1993, the silent West Texas town of Terlingua echoed with the roar of a diesel engine as it moved a one-ton Dodge Ram through the desert. As his workhorse powered through the rugged terrain of the mostly abandoned mining town, locals all wondered the same thing. Who was this new cowboy riding in?
His name was Miguel Ángel Arügello, and he wasn’t a cowboy, he was an artist. He came to Terlingua from New York City on a mission to complete a new landscape series of the American Southwest. Fully committing to this new series would require Miguel to live in the desert where he could wake up and start painting every day.
Miguel purchased a custom 4X4 pickup truck with an attached camper behind the cab. This camper would house both Miguel and his significant other, Natasha, along with their two dogs, and Miguel’s canvases. This allowed Miguel to live modestly and set up shop in the old Terlingua graveyard.
Ironically, on his first day in Terlingua, Miguel witnessed something rare. A cloudy day. Miguel jokingly stated in an interview “I was cheated by the desert.” A few days later the clouds parted, and Miguel saw the sun kiss the desert. Even with an abundance of sunlight, Miguel’s first painting would capture that cloudy day.
To avoid contrasts, Miguel would wait until the sun was perfectly set behind the Chisos mountains, leaving him with only a one-hour window to paint on most days. Miguel spent 8 years on his Southwestern landscape series traveling between Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
Artist biography
Miguel Ángel Argüello was born in Madrid, Spain in 1941. He decided to pursue art in 1964, starting with drawing lessons. In 1965, he became a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, to study under Antonio Lopez who would become a lifelong friend. During his early days as an artist, he moved around often, living in Spain, Sweden, and London, England.
Miguel was a key figure for modern Spanish realism, with most of his work being landscape and flower paintings. Fun fact: Miguel hand-picked every flower he ever painted. Sometime around 1971, his oil painting “Crysanthemums in London,” won him a scholarship and he was invited to teach painting, drawing, and sculpture at the University of California — Santa Cruz.
In 1983 Miguel left California and moved to New York City where he set up a studio in Tribeca. Miguel completed some of his best work while living in New York City, including his many flower paintings and “red figures on black mirrors,” which was an experimental part of his New York Series.
From concrete jungle to the old west
While nearing the end of his New York Series, Miguel had already planned his next move, a series of landscape paintings in the deserts of Texas and Arizona. He decided he would buy a camper and live in the desert for the duration of his next series. Just before moving, Miguel met Natasha Gray, who he took on as a student. The two formed a relationship soon after and moved to Texas together in December of 1993 with their two dogs.
Miguel and Natasha would spend 8 years in the deserts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, before moving to Florida where their two children Alba, and Aragon were born. Sadly, Miguel passed away in 2005.
He is remembered as an important artist of the Spanish realism movement.
Unfortunately, I was not able to locate any public-domain photos of Miguel or his artwork. I encourage you to watch the below video on YouTube, which is a piece shot by the Texas Country Reporter on Miguel in 1995.
Sources
Miguel Ángel Argüello (miguelangelarguello.com)
Check Out Natasha Gray’s Story — VoyageTampa
