Ernest Blumenschein was a New York who convinced another artist, Bert Phillips, to join him in a trip to Mexico. The two took the train to Denver where they purchased a wagon and supplies for their trip. After their wagon broke down outside of Taos, the two decided to terminate their adventure and remain in Taos. While Blumenschein would return to New York and also to Paris, Phillips remained in Taos. Blumenschein joined him in the summers. Together they founded the Taos Society of Artists. Blumenschein’s home is today a museum. (Click on photos to enlarge.)
The Harwood Museum of Art’s mission ” to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret the arts, especially those created in, inspired by, or relevant to northern New Mexico.” The museum was originally the home of artists Burt and Elizabeth Harwood, who established it as the town’s only library and then began using it to mount exhibitions.
Mabel Dodge Luhan was a wealthy patron of the arts who moved to Taos in 1917. She created a writers colony, playing host to D.H. Lawrence, Willa Cather, Robinson Jeffers, Aldous Huxley, among others. Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams and other artists were also guests at her 12 acre estate. Today, the estate is a conference center and inn.
The Taos Art Museum is located in the former home of Nicolai Fechin. Nicolai Fechin was an artist who immigrated from the Soviet Union who settled in Taos in 1927. He bought a small home and added multiple additions. He did all the woodwork in the home and the studio. The house was given to the Taos Art Society by Fechin’s daughter and today houses the Taos Art Museum.
The Fechin Studio.
