Taos Society of Artists
Encyclopedia
The Taos Society of Artists was an organization of visual arts founded in Taos, New Mexico
in 1915; it disbanded in 1927. The Society was essentially a commercial cooperative
, as opposed to a stylistic collective
, and its foundation contributed to the development of the tiny Taos art colony
into an international art center.
, who decided to make painting of Native Americans
his life work, visited Taos on a trip through New Mexico in 1893. While there he became enchanted with the people of the Taos Pueblo
and the landscape, an interest he shared with Ernest Blumenschein
when they were studying art in Paris. Having heard of the degree to which Sharp was interested in painting the western United States
, and the Indian
pueblo
of Taos in particular, Blumenschein came to Taos with fellow artist Bert Phillips in 1898. Planning only to visit Taos, they became enamored by the Taos valley and its people that they decided to stay. This was the beginning of the Taos art colony
.
Blumenschein described his first sights of Taos, "The month was September, and the fertile valley a beautiful sight, and inspiration for those who ply the brush for happiness. The primitive people of this out-of-the-way region were harvesting their crops by sunlight and by moonlight. Brown people they were, both Mexicans
and Indians
, happy people with happy children, in a garden spot protected by mountains." More compelling were the people. Native Americans had lived for centuries in the pueblo just outside the village of Taos. There a peace-loving, democratic
society has maintained, and continues to maintain, its history, culture, dress and way of life over centuries.
Ernest Blumenschein returned to New York
for a time while Phillips stayed behind. Blumenschein kept up correspondence with Phillips and discussed setting up an artist colony in Taos. Blumenschein also wrote other artists in New York and Paris
of Taos about the "beauty and artistic promise of northern New Mexico
."
By 1915 Joseph Henry Sharp
, E. Irving Couse
, Oscar E. Berninghaus
and W. Herbert Dunton
came to Taos and with Ernest Blumenschein
and Bert Phillips they formed the Taos Society of Artists. The six founding members were known as the "Taos Six". E. Irving Couse
was the Society's first president.
Their work, defined the first several decades of the Taos art colony
, was distinguished by: Native Americans in traditional clothing, area Hispanic
s and Anglo-Americans and landscapes.
They sent travelling exhibits
of their work across the United States. Initial critical reaction of the works was that they were unrealistic and overdone: vivid colors, too emotionally evocative and strong vibrational quality. The artists questioned the critics veracity, since they had never been to the southwestern
desert
, nor the Taos Pueblo
.
Later members included Julius Rolshoven
, E. Martin Hennings, Catharine Critcher, Kenneth Adams, Walter Ufer
, and Victor Higgins.
, another developing arts center, were included as Associate members: Robert Henri
, Albert L. Groll, Randall Davey, B.J.O. Nordfeldt
, Gustave Baumann
, Albert Groll, Birger Sandzén
, and John Sloan.
Honorary memberships were extended to men who helped create a museum infrastructure in New Mexico: Edgar L. Hewett, the director of the Museum of New Mexico
; and Frank Springer, whose donations helped to build the Museum of New Mexico’s Fine Arts Museum
in Santa Fe.
was the precipitating factor for the dissolution of the Taos Society of Artists. Taos was devastated by the depression and the artist's patrons
were not spending money on art during that time. Victor Higgins the most financially devastated by the Depression made two of his most important paintings during that time, Winter Funeral heralded by the New York press, and Sleeping Nude similarly praised by the Chicago Herald Examiner writer Inez Cunningham. Cunningham likened Higgins to a phoenix
rising out of the ashes, "what heights of intellectual and emotional fire. He is one of those fortunate few who flower in maturity."
. Aside from the inspiration of their environment, one quality early Taos art colony
paintings share is their vibrant palette of colors - not a common sight when paired with more traditional representational images and application of paint. Today, these artists are recognized for their contribution to artistic development and their scenes of Taos locales grace the walls of many museums.
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
in 1915; it disbanded in 1927. The Society was essentially a commercial cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
, as opposed to a stylistic collective
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...
, and its foundation contributed to the development of the tiny Taos art colony
Taos art colony
The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.In 1898 a visit...
into an international art center.
The beginning
Joseph Henry SharpJoseph Henry Sharp
Joseph Henry Sharp was an American painter and a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, of which he is considered the "Spiritual Father". Sharp was one of the earliest European-American artists to visit Taos, New Mexico, which he saw in 1893 with John Hauser when he visited in 1893...
, who decided to make painting of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
his life work, visited Taos on a trip through New Mexico in 1893. While there he became enchanted with the people of the Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
and the landscape, an interest he shared with Ernest Blumenschein
Ernest L. Blumenschein
Ernest Leonard Blumenschein was an American artist andfounding member of the Taos Society of Artists. He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico and the American Southwest.-Early life and education:...
when they were studying art in Paris. Having heard of the degree to which Sharp was interested in painting the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, and the Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
of Taos in particular, Blumenschein came to Taos with fellow artist Bert Phillips in 1898. Planning only to visit Taos, they became enamored by the Taos valley and its people that they decided to stay. This was the beginning of the Taos art colony
Taos art colony
The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.In 1898 a visit...
.
Blumenschein described his first sights of Taos, "The month was September, and the fertile valley a beautiful sight, and inspiration for those who ply the brush for happiness. The primitive people of this out-of-the-way region were harvesting their crops by sunlight and by moonlight. Brown people they were, both Mexicans
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, happy people with happy children, in a garden spot protected by mountains." More compelling were the people. Native Americans had lived for centuries in the pueblo just outside the village of Taos. There a peace-loving, democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
society has maintained, and continues to maintain, its history, culture, dress and way of life over centuries.
Ernest Blumenschein returned to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for a time while Phillips stayed behind. Blumenschein kept up correspondence with Phillips and discussed setting up an artist colony in Taos. Blumenschein also wrote other artists in New York and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
of Taos about the "beauty and artistic promise of northern New Mexico
Northern New Mexico
Northern New Mexico may simply mean the northern part of New Mexico, but in cultural terms it usually means the area of heavy Spanish settlement in the north-central part....
."
By 1915 Joseph Henry Sharp
Joseph Henry Sharp
Joseph Henry Sharp was an American painter and a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, of which he is considered the "Spiritual Father". Sharp was one of the earliest European-American artists to visit Taos, New Mexico, which he saw in 1893 with John Hauser when he visited in 1893...
, E. Irving Couse
E. Irving Couse
Eanger Irving Couse was an American artist and a founding member and first president of the Taos Society of Artists. He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest...
, Oscar E. Berninghaus
Oscar E. Berninghaus
-Further reading:*Sanders, Gordon E. Oscar E. Berninghaus, Taos, New Mexico: Master Painter of American Indians and the Frontier West. Taos Heritage Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN 0-9615-1771-9-External links:* * Paintings* *...
and W. Herbert Dunton
W. Herbert Dunton
William Herbert "Buck" Dunton was an American artist and a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest.-Early life and education:...
came to Taos and with Ernest Blumenschein
Ernest L. Blumenschein
Ernest Leonard Blumenschein was an American artist andfounding member of the Taos Society of Artists. He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico and the American Southwest.-Early life and education:...
and Bert Phillips they formed the Taos Society of Artists. The six founding members were known as the "Taos Six". E. Irving Couse
E. Irving Couse
Eanger Irving Couse was an American artist and a founding member and first president of the Taos Society of Artists. He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest...
was the Society's first president.
Their work, defined the first several decades of the Taos art colony
Taos art colony
The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.In 1898 a visit...
, was distinguished by: Native Americans in traditional clothing, area Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
s and Anglo-Americans and landscapes.
They sent travelling exhibits
Travelling exhibition
A travelling exhibition, also referred to as a "travelling exhibit" or a "touring exhibition", is a type of exhibition that is available for circulation to one or more venues in addition to the premises of the organiser....
of their work across the United States. Initial critical reaction of the works was that they were unrealistic and overdone: vivid colors, too emotionally evocative and strong vibrational quality. The artists questioned the critics veracity, since they had never been to the southwestern
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, nor the Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
.
Structure and membership
Member artists had to have worked in Taos for three consecutive years, shown an interest and aptitude for painting Native Americans and have shown in reputable galleries or New York salons (ongoing art exhibits). The primary reason for the requirements was to ensure that the artists were well-intentioned and capable of capturing the character and spirit of the people.Later members included Julius Rolshoven
Julius Rolshoven
Julius Rolshoven was a well-traveled American painter, with work firmly in the academic tradition.Rolshoven was born and raised in Detroit...
, E. Martin Hennings, Catharine Critcher, Kenneth Adams, Walter Ufer
Walter Ufer
Walter Ufer was an American artist based in Taos, New Mexico. His most notable work focuses on scenes of Native American life, particularly of the Pueblo Indians....
, and Victor Higgins.
Associate and honorary members
Some artists from Santa FeSanta Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, another developing arts center, were included as Associate members: Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
, Albert L. Groll, Randall Davey, B.J.O. Nordfeldt
Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt
Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt was a Swedish-American artist who painted seascapes and depictions of New Mexico's indigenous culture.-Background:...
, Gustave Baumann
Gustave Baumann
Gustave Baumann was a printmaker and painter, and one of the leading figures of the color woodcut revival in America. His works have been shown at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the New Mexico Museum of Art...
, Albert Groll, Birger Sandzén
Birger Sandzén
Sven Birger Sandzén , known more commonly as Birger Sandzén, was a Swedish-American painter best known for his landscapes...
, and John Sloan.
Honorary memberships were extended to men who helped create a museum infrastructure in New Mexico: Edgar L. Hewett, the director of the Museum of New Mexico
Museum of New Mexico
The Museum of New Mexico consists of six separate institutions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, including :* New Mexico Museum of Art* Palace of the Governors* Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology* Museum of International Folk Art...
; and Frank Springer, whose donations helped to build the Museum of New Mexico’s Fine Arts Museum
New Mexico Museum of Art
The New Mexico Museum of Art , the oldest art museum in the state of New Mexico, is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe...
in Santa Fe.
Depression
The depressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
was the precipitating factor for the dissolution of the Taos Society of Artists. Taos was devastated by the depression and the artist's patrons
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
were not spending money on art during that time. Victor Higgins the most financially devastated by the Depression made two of his most important paintings during that time, Winter Funeral heralded by the New York press, and Sleeping Nude similarly praised by the Chicago Herald Examiner writer Inez Cunningham. Cunningham likened Higgins to a phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
rising out of the ashes, "what heights of intellectual and emotional fire. He is one of those fortunate few who flower in maturity."
Influence
The "Taos Six" applied academic technique to native themes to produce a uniquely American school of painting. Each artist's style was unique, though cross influence can certainly be noted as can strong elements of their European Academic artistic trainingAcademic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
. Aside from the inspiration of their environment, one quality early Taos art colony
Taos art colony
The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.In 1898 a visit...
paintings share is their vibrant palette of colors - not a common sight when paired with more traditional representational images and application of paint. Today, these artists are recognized for their contribution to artistic development and their scenes of Taos locales grace the walls of many museums.
Further reading
- Broder, Patricia Janis. Taos, a Painter's Dream, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1980.
- Peters, Gerald III (ed.) The Taos Society of Artists: Masters and Masterworks. Gerald Peters Gallery, 1998. ISBN 0-935037-78-0
- Schimmel, Julie; White, Robert R. Bert Geer Phillips and the Taos Art Colony. Univ of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (June 1994). ISBN 0826314449
- Shipp, Steve. American Art Colonies, 1850-1930: A Historical Guide to America's Original Art Colonies and Their Artists. Greenwood Press, 1996. ISBN 0313296197
External links
- Taos Society of Artists: 1915 - 1927, Koshare Indian Museum
- Catherine Jansen, "The Taos Society of Artists", bibliography, 1999, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
- Taos as an Art Colony: From the Taos Society of Artists to the Present, Taos Unlimited
- Taos Pre 1940, Ask Art
- The Couse Foundation And The Couse/Sharp Historic Site
- E.L. Blumenschein Home and Museum