Special Event Center

These five western landscapes are the largest set of triptych paintings in the nation. They were completed between 1992 and 1996 by Wilson Hurley, and reside in the Sam Noble Special Events Center. Each of the 18′ x 46′ triptychs, dubbed “Windows to the West,” depict a particular western location caught at sunset, and all, except one, have the same horizon line with the light streaming in from the west. The first, New Mexico Suite, was completed in 1992, and shows an momentous sky over the Sandia Mountains as viewed from the west side of the Rio Grande near Albuquerque. In 1993 came Arizona Suite, a view of the Grand Canyon from an unusual lower level looking upward. Then in 1994 California Suite, depicting Point Lobos on the Pacific Coast near Carmel, with the sun setting over the ocean, appeared. Utah Suite, completed in 1995, contains a magnificent view of Monument Valley under a cloudless sky. Finally, in 1996, Wyoming Suite, with its spectacular view of the lower falls of the Yellowstone River, complete the assemblage.