The New Mexico Military Museum Announces Major Exhibition Featuring the Military and Aviation Art of Wilson Hurley opening February 13, 2026.

F-80 Towing Aerial Gunnery Target

Cat. no. 58-06

Above & Beyond the Landscape: The New Mexico Air National Guard and other Military Art of Wilson Hurley opening February 13, 2026

Santa Fe, NM — The New Mexico Military Museum is proud to announce a major exhibition dedicated to the life and work of acclaimed artist Wilson Hurley. This comprehensive exhibition highlights Hurley’s extraordinary career as both an artist and a military aviator, offering visitors a rare opportunity to explore how firsthand service shaped his creative vision.

Above & Beyond the Landscape: The New Mexico Air National Guard and other Military Art of Wilson Hurley opens February 13, 2026, showcasing unique paintings and ephemera from renowned landscape and aviation artist Wilson Hurley. This landmark exhibition brings together works spanning several decades, many of which have never been publicly exhibited, offering visitors a rare opportunity to experience a lesser known but deeply significant body of Hurley’s work.

The exhibition focuses on Hurley’s military and aviation art, highlighting works created across multiple periods of his career. Many of his early aviation-related works were gifted by Wilson Hurley to the New Mexico Air National Guard, where he proudly served as a pilot for fifteen years beginning in 1954. These works reflect both his early artistic development and his deep connection to military service in New Mexico.

Wilson Hurley was extremely proud of his military service, and that pride is deeply reflected in his artwork. A Vietnam era fighter pilot and forward air controller, Hurley continued to paint aviation and service-related subjects throughout his life. His trained eye and unique perspective capture the beauty of flight set against sweeping landscapes below, offering viewers insight into how lived experience in the cockpit informed his artistic process. These works result in breathtaking paintings that convey motion, scale, and the emotional intensity of flight.

The exhibition traces Hurley’s artistic journey across decades, beginning with his earliest aviation-related efforts and continuing through works inspired directly by his wartime experience. The exhibition also includes paintings commissioned by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), created specifically in recognition of Hurley’s military background and his ability to translate the technical and emotional realities of flight into visual form.

In addition to his paintings, the exhibition presents never-before-seen sketches and field studies, revealing Hurley’s creative process from initial observation to completed work. Visitors will also see personal effects and tools used by the artist, providing an intimate connection to both his military service and his studio practice. Together, these materials offer a deeper understanding of how Hurley blended discipline, observation, and artistry throughout his life.

While Hurley is widely known for his landscapes, this exhibition emphasizes his military and aviation art, aligning closely with the New Mexico Military Museum’s mission to preserve and interpret stories of service, sacrifice, and national defense. His work reflects not only the beauty of the skies and terrain he flew over, but also the broader human experience of military service.

Above & Beyond the Landscape: The New Mexico Air National Guard and other Military Art of Wilson Hurley will be on display through April 2027, offering visitors a full fourteen months to experience and appreciate the exhibition. Signed copies of The Life and Art of Wilson Hurley Celebrating the Richness of Reality, written by his widow and wife of thirty-nine years, Rosalyn Roembke Hurley, will be available for purchase at the Museum.

For Further information please contact:

Laureta Huit

Museum Director

E-mail: lauretam.huit@dma.nm.gov

Phone: 505.476.1476 Cell: 505.372.9738

1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505

www.newmexicomilitarymuseum.com