Will Shuster
William Howard Shuster Jr. (1893–1969) was an American painter, sculptor and teacher.
Also recorded as William Shuster · William Howard Shuster, Jr. · Shus
Will Shuster

Will Shuster · Public domain
- Name
- Will Shuster
- Birth Name
- William Howard Shuster Jr.
- Born
- 26 November 1893
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 9 February 1969
- Place of death
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
- Education
- John Sloan
- Known for
- Painting
- Movement
- Los Cinco Pintores
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter · ironworker · sculptor · teacher · etcher · graphic artist · illustrator
- Languages
- English · Spanish
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q8012579 · wikipedia · Will Shuster
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Getty Union List of Artist Names
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Will Shuster studied at Drexel University. Training under John Sloan is recorded. The recorded working language is English and Spanish. Residence is recorded at New Mexico. Works named in the authority record are Zozobra, The Eve of Saint Francis, New Mexico Snow Country, Portrait of John Sloan, Mountains and Desert and Untitled (Deer Dance). Work by Will Shuster is recorded in the collections of New Mexico Museum of Art, Stark Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Delaware Art Museum and The Newark Museum of Art.

New Mexico Snow Country, 1921
Will Shuster

1928 portrait of John Sloan by Will Shuster
Will Shuster
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Will Shuster • Birth Name — William Howard Shuster Jr. • Born — 26 November 1893 • Birthplace — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 9 February 1969 • Place of death — Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. • Resting Place — Santa Fe National Cemetery Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. • Education — John Sloan • Alma Mater — Drexel Institute • Known for — Painting • Notable Works — Zozobra • Movement — Los Cinco Pintores
Documentary record
Will Shuster (1893 – 1969) is described as an engraver, painter and printmaker in the authority records of the Getty Union List of Artist Names. Will Shuster was born in 1893 in Philadelphia and died in 1969 in Albuquerque.
Youth
Youth
• Illustration — The Eve of Saint Francis, 1922 Shuster was born November 26, 1893, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the second of three children. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I in France, where he developed tuberculosis after being gassed. He would receive a disability pension thereafter.
New Mexico
New Mexico
• Illustration — New Mexico Snow Country, 1921 In 1920, Shuster moved to New Mexico to improve his health and became friends with the small but growing arts community. Shuster made money doing ironwork and painting to supplement the pension. In 1921, he became a member of Los Cinco Pintores ("the five painters"), and showed throughout Santa Fe and the rest of the country with the group.
Identity
Identity
Will Shuster is recorded as painter, ironworker, sculptor, teacher and etcher.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1893
Will Shuster born at Philadelphia.
1969
Will Shuster died at Albuquerque.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
New Mexico
Residences
Philadelphia.
Birth place
Albuquerque.
Death place
Oeuvre
• Illustration — Portrait of John Sloan, 1928 His artwork is in the permanent collections of the Stark Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Delaware Art Museum, Newark Museum, and New Mexico Museum of Art. • undated — Senator Bronson Cutting (bronze bust) • undated — Avanyu 1 • undated — Avanyu 2 • undated — Prayer for the Hunt • undated — Portrait of Teresa Bakos • undated — 40th Wedding Anniversary • 1921 — New Mexico Snow Country • October 1922 — The Eve of Saint Francis • 1924 — Zozobra, a giant puppet now burned every year in effigy, and symbolizing the gloom of the passing year. • 1927 — New Mexico Mountain Scene • 1928 — Portrait of John Sloan • 1929 —The Santo Domingo - Corn Dance • c. 1930 — Trees at Canyoncito • c. 1934 — Eagle Dancer (study for The Voice of the Sky) • 1934 — Winnowing Wheat • May 28 - August 8, 1934 — The Voice of the Earth (The Basket Dance) • 1934 — Pottery Maker • May 28 - August 28, 1934 — The Voice of the Water (The Spring Flute Ceremony) • 1934 — Sermon at Cross of the Martyrs • 1935 — The Voice of Sipapu (The Kiva) • c. 1940 — Sketchbook • September 14 - October 12, 1943 — The Voice of the Sky (The Eagle Dance) • 1949 — Untitled (Deer Dance) • 1952 — El Toro, a symbol for the Santa Fe Rodeo. • 1964 — Zozobra Mural
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Will Shuster, revision 1366270776 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Peters Corporation. John Sloan ~ Will Shuster: A Santa Fe Friendship. 1993. 0935037497.
- 2.Dispenza, Joseph & Louise Turner. Will Shuster: A Santa Fe Legend. Museum of New Mexico Press. 1989. 0890131988.
- 3.Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Oral history interview with Will Shuster.
- 4.Robertson, Edna. Los Cinco Pintores. Museum of New Mexico Press. 1975. 0890130809.
- 5.Lewandowski, Stacia. Light, Landscape and the Creative Quest : Early Artists of Santa Fe. Salska Arts. 144. 2011. 9780615469171.
- 6.Untitled (Deer Dance). 1949.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q8012579: Will ShusterWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings William Shuster, William Howard Shuster, Jr. And Shus. His recorded languages were English and Spanish. Work and production. Works recorded as notable number 6: Zozobra, The Eve of Saint Francis, New Mexico Snow Country, Portrait of John Sloan, Mountains and Desert and Untitled (Deer Dance).
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Will H. ChandleeIllustrator
- Will MahonyIllustrator
- Will McPhailIllustrator
- Will OwenIllustrator
- Will VawterIllustrator
- Willard A. DownesIllustrator
- Willem EngelIllustrator
- Willem HondiusIllustrator
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