Agnes C. Sims

American, 1910 - 1990

BiographyBorn in Devon, Pennsylvania, Agnes Sims studied art at both the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. During her first visit to New Mexico in 1938 she decided to move to Santa Fe. She later bought and renovated a house on Canyon Road where she lived most of her adult life with her long-time partner, Mary Louise Aswell, the fiction editor at Harper's Bazaar. In addition to her career as an artist, Sims ran a classical record store and worked as a contractor, renovating many of the historic homes around Santa Fe. As an artist she was as diverse as she was prolific, sculpting in wood, stone, bronze, terracotta, fiberglass, and polyester.
Sims’ artwork was initially influenced by the prehistoric petroglyphs of the Galisteo Basin. She also worked with anthropologist Bertha Dutton studying the kiva murals at Coronado Historic Site and the ruins of Kuaua Pueblo . Referencing the prehistoric designs in her work she did not directly copy them, instead she harmonized Southwestern anthropological subject matter with analytical cubist forms. Her fascination with prehistoric Native culture led to an interest in modern Native ceremonies, like the Deer Dance. Sims’ work blends various aspects of New Mexican art and culture, referencing Native ceremonies, recalling regional Hispanic woodcarving practices, and engaging modern artistic movements. (Waguespack, 2018).

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