Painter Paul Burlin (1884-1969) was active in New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Paris, France and was regarded as one of the first modern artists to represent the American southwest.
Burlin was born in New York and spent his childhood traveling between New York City and London. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1912 to work on his art full time and began exhibiting his work at the Daniel Gallery in New York around the same time. His work was selected for the New York Armory Show in 1913.
Burlin met his future wife, ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis, in 1916. They were married from 1917 until Curtis's death in France in 1921. After Natalie's death Burlin remained in Paris until the early 1930s, exhibiting his work in France, New York, and Munich. He returned to New York in 1932 where he lived for the rest of his life.
Burlin's one man exhibitions included shows at the Downtown Gallery, University of Minnesota, Washington University, St. Louis, Union College, Art Institute of Chicago, the American Federation of Arts, which circulated a Burlin retrospective, and many others. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Encyclopedia Britannica, and elsewhere. Burlin also served as a visiting artist and lecturer at various universities including University of Wyoming, Union College, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and University of Colorado.