Winter 2013

2013 / Vol. 118 / No. 4

Cover Story

How many times have you passed by the murals on your way through the courtyard to the galleries of the New Mexico Museum of Art? They are the work of Will Shuster, the creator of the giant Zozobra puppet, whose annual fiery demise takes with him the troubles of Santa Fe. The August–September 1934 issue of El Palacio announced the series of six frescoes depicting “subjects of Indian life” as a project of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (established in 1932 and replaced by the WPA in 1935).

By Penelope Hunter-Stiebel

Categories: Visual art

The Father of “El Pal”

El Palacio’s longevity can be attributed in large part to its first editor, Paul A. F. Walter. Shown in this photograph seated at his desk in the Palace of the Governors about 1913, Walter was the editorial voice of “El Pal” for forty-four years. He guided the publication through two world wars, a depression, and into the Space Age. He ended his long editorial run in December 1957, but his name remained on the masthead as editor emeritus through the end of 1959.

By David Rohr

Categories: Framework