Desert Storm, Arizona

Born in Sweden, Carl Oscar Borg settled in California in 1904 and worked as a scene painter for various motion picture companies. The following year the artist traveled throughout California and the Southwest drawing inspiration from the various and grand landscapes that he encountered. The body of work produced during this trip was included in Borg's first exhibition that same year and established him as a fine artist. By 1915, Borg resided in Santa Barbara where he became close friends with the artist Edward Borein. During this period, Borg's reputation as a premier painter of the Southwest producing images of cowboys and Indian ceremonials was firmly established.

Desert Storm, Arizona, executed in 1934 is one of Borg's most dramatic works and poignantly illutrates his unique vision of the West. Most likely influenced by his past experience as a scene painter, Borg in Desert Storm, Arizona creates a panoramic view of the desert. A landscape dotted with buttes and canyons is coupled with an endless sky vigorously animated by ominous cloud formations. The natural grandeur of the Southwest depicted in Desert Storm, Arizona is further emphasized by the three desert riders who are dwarfed by their boundless environs. Utilizing sweeping brushstrokes and vivid color, Borg captures on canvas a romantic vision of the Southwest, a beautifully raw landscape untouched by the invasive hands of man.