As there was no WPA studio in Taos, Kloss created several prints for the project out, including the one offered here, at her studio in Taos, New Mexico. This print is extremely rare.

Gene Kloss (1903-1996) was born Alice Geneva Glasier in Oakland, California. She was an American painter and printmaker best known for her exquisite prints of the American Southwest. Although she had a reputation for her oil paintings and watercolors, she was a print making virtuoso who created a vast amount of work that spanned nearly six decades. Kloss grew up in the California bay area and attended the University of California Berkeley and the California School of Fine Arts where she studied art and printmaking. She and her husband spent most of their time in Taos, New Mexico and eventually made it their permanent home. Considered an artist translator of the Southwest, New Mexico would serve as her muse for most of her artistic career. Her striking prints, which are filled with drama and high contrast, document the people, culture, and daily life of New Mexico and define her career stylistically. Kloss’ work is in many permanent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Carnegie Institute, and the San Francisco Art Museum. She was a member of the National Academy of Design, and received numerous awards, including the Eyre Gold Medal from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1936, and the Henry B. Shope Prize from the Society of American Etchers in 1951. Kloss died in 1996 in Taos, New Mexico.