Artist and photographer Teddy "Ted" David Kuykendall, a resident of Santa Fe and Roswell, died Oct. 5 at the age of 56 at the Roswell Regional Hospital. The cause of death was pneumonia and heart complications.

"Ted Kuykendall was one of the most intense human beings I've ever known," said Rixon Reed, Photo-eye Gallery and bookstore owner, a friend and representative for Kuykendall in Santa Fe. "His struggle to survive both economically and emotionally was balanced with his ability to produce brilliant, original artworks.

"It's as though he grappled with his demons in the darkroom, using toners and chemicals to paint mischievously dark, yet sometimes playful scenes from his innermost psyche. His genius will be missed."

Born to Radonna Kerr and David Kuykendall in 1953 in Roswell, Ted Kuykendall attended the New Mexico Military Institute and subsequently apprenticed with the late New Mexico sculptor Luis Jimenez. Prior to earning a bachelor of arts degree at The University of New Mexico, Kuykendall learned the fundamentals of photography from his friend Richard Schaeffer.

In 1985 and 2007, he was awarded fellowships in the Roswell Artist-In-Residence program and, in 1991, Kuykendall received the Willard Van Dyke Memorial Grant in Santa Fe.

Recognized by the late photo historian and curator Van Deren Coke for his "puzzling pictures full of wonders that draw us into a fragile synthesis of anonymity and frightening intimacy," Kuykendall's imagery continues to haunt and delight viewers.

Kuykendall is survived by one son, Ian, and six half-siblings: Bonnie Bailey Smith (Georgia), H.D. Bailey (Hawaii), Dr. Bill Bailey (California), Paul Kuykendall (Arkansas), Myra Small (Missouri), and Beverly Garner of Roswell. Donald and Lorene Kuykendall, Ted's aunt and uncle, also reside in Roswell.

Kuykendall's work is represented in collections across the country, including the Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo, N.Y.; Denver Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; as well as in New Mexico at the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, New Mexico Museum of Art, Anderson Museum of Art and the Roswell Museum and Art Center.

A memorial is scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, 409 E. College, in Roswell.

Contact Douglas Fairfield at 986-3048, dfairfield@sfnewmexican.com.