Early Life, Family and Training

Howard Behling Schleeter was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1903. He grew up in a household where art was a practical reality, being the son of a commercial artist. This early exposure to the mechanics of visual work likely shaped his early understanding of line and form. He sought formal instruction briefly at the Albright Art School in his hometown, though he would later describe himself as primarily self-taught.

His path was interrupted by the onset of global conflict. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy. This period of service preceded his eventual move toward a life dedicated entirely to painting. After his time in the military, he worked as an airplane mechanic, a trade that required a different kind of precision before he finally committed to the life of an artist.

Life and Activity in New Mexico

The decision to move to New Mexico in 1929 changed the course of his life. He arrived in the territory alone, but by the following year, he had married and settled in the region permanently. The years that followed were marked by the economic pressures of the Great Depression. To keep his studio running, he occasionally took on manual labor, such as digging ditches, to supplement his income as an artist.

His residence remained largely centered in Albuquerque, where he lived for four decades, from 1930 until 1970. During this long stretch, he moved through different pockets of the state. He spent brief periods living in Santa Fe between 1958 and 1968. In his final years, he moved further out to Placitas, where he stayed until 1976.

Patrons, Workshop and Commissions

The lean years of the Great Depression left Schleeter digging ditches to make ends meet, but the landscape of his career shifted in 1936. That year brought his first of several commissions from the Works Progress Administration. He remained active within the Federal Arts Project from 1936 until 1942, finding a steady rhythm of work that helped sustain his presence in the Southwest.

His standing within the local art community grew through the recognition of established figures. He was among the first artists selected by Peter Hurd and Jane Mabry, both of whom were central to the artistic life of the region. This connection helped him gain local attention for his contributions to the New Mexico art scene, moving him beyond the status of a newcomer to a recognized presence in the territory's creative circles.

Technique and Style

Schleeter’s approach to the canvas was defined by a restless experimentation with how paint sits upon a surface. He did not settle for a flat application; instead, he developed a signature style characterized by heavy impasto. By building up thick layers of material, he allowed the physical texture of the paint to catch the light, making the movement of his brushstrokes a permanent part of the work's topography. This tactile quality gave his compositions a sense of physical weight that moved away from the traditional, smoother finishes common in the landscapes of his time.

His interests extended beyond the standard use of oil. He worked through a variety of mediums, including gouache, watercolor, scratchboard, and engraving. This versatility suggests a mind preoccupied with the mechanics of mark-making and the way different substances react to pressure and pigment. He was known to explore and invent his own painting techniques, often pushing against the established norms of the regional art scene. While many of his contemporaries focused on the literal depiction of the New Mexico landscape, his work leaned toward modernism, using abstraction and structural composition to interpret his surroundings.

Key Works

The brushwork in his 1939 oil on board, Sunday Morning, shows a departure from the traditional landscapes common in New Mexico at that time. The paint is applied with a heavy impasto, making the physical texture of the strokes as much a part of the scene as the subject itself. This approach gives the work a certain weight, where the light seems to catch on the ridges of the dried oil.

In 1947, he produced “A Birthday Song”, a work that reflects his ability to move between different modes of expression. By 1950, his piece Coralline demonstrated his continued interest in experimenting with how light and color interact on a surface. These years saw him refining a way of seeing that favored the movement of the hand over a strictly photographic representation of the landscape.

His later output includes Stephanie, painted in 1955. This work, along with his other compositions, highlights the way he used thick layers of paint to build up a sense of depth and motion. He often worked with various mediums, including gouache and watercolor, but it was the heavy, tactile nature of his oils that defined much of his output during his decades in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

• Sunday Morning (1939)
• Coralline (1950)
• “A Birthday Song” (1947)
• Stephanie (1955)

Teaching and Professional Life

Before settling into a life of painting, there were years of manual labor and technical work. During the Great Depression, the need to make ends meet meant digging ditches to sustain himself. He also spent time working as an airplane mechanic, a role that required a different kind of precision than the brushstrokes he would later favor. These periods of labor preceded his more established years in the Southwest, where his reputation grew among his peers.

By 1945, his standing in the art community was noted by the Encyclopedia Britannica, which referred to him as an artist’s artist. This recognition came even as he navigated the complexities of the local art scene. He eventually moved into formal instruction, sharing his knowledge at the University of New Mexico during the 1950–1951 period and again in 1954.

Where to See the Works Today

His paintings have found their way into several permanent collections and museum halls. In Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian American Art Museum holds one of his works. This presence in a national institution places his vision within the broader history of American art. His canvases have also been part of the collections and exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum, where his specific approach to form and light was presented to a wide audience.

The reach of his work extends to major centers of art in the United States. His pieces have been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, allowing viewers to see his handling of color and texture in a formal setting. In San Francisco, the DeYoung Museum has also hosted his work, bringing his modernist perspectives to the West Coast. These locations offer a way to encounter the physical presence of his oils and the heavy impasto he favored in his later years.