Luis Lujan; Artist Known for His Carvings of Saints

Luis Lujan, 65, who was nationally recognized for his carvings of saints, died Wednesday of respiratory failure in Santa Fe, N.M.

His work has been displayed in the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, the Museum of Albuquerque and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles. He also exhibited his work at the annual Spanish Market in Santa Fe.

Born with a bone deficiency that prevented his legs from fully forming, Lujan began carving when he was 10, making model airplanes and other toys. But he gave it up for several years and became a jeweler. Lujan took up carving figures of saints in the 1970s after a friend found a childhood carving he had made.

“Religion is a big part of my life here in northern New Mexico,” he once told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “I always pray when I am carving. When I finish, I feel that I have done my work.”