Best Art & History Museums in Taos

Taos Plaza is a Hub for New Mexican Art Galleries and Historic Sites

Oct 19, 2008

Like Santa Fe, Taos, New Mexico is full of art and history, from Native American pottery to works by the Taos Society of Artists to the home of frontiersman Kit Carson.

A broken wagon wheel forced artists Ernest Blumenschein and Bert Phillips to stop in Taos in 1898. Once they'd discovered its extraordinary light and landscape, its striking adobe buildings and Native American culture, they decided to stay. A few years later they founded the Taos Society of Artists, and the town has been a leading New Mexico art colony ever since.

Although it's often overshadowed by Santa Fe, which lies 70 miles south, Taos has a wealth of fine art galleries and historical museums. Many are set around or near Taos Plaza. With its laid-back, bohemian air, Taos is a relaxing place to discover New Mexican art.

Blumenschein Home and Museum

Ernest Blumenschein was one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists in 1915. His former home is a fine example of how Taos artists lived during the early 1900s. It contains paintings by Blumenschein and his family, and works by other members of the Society. Beautiful Spanish Colonial furniture and European antiques are also on display.

Harwood Museum of Art

Housed in a complex of adobe buildings that was once the home of artists Burt and Elizabeth Harwood, New Mexico's second-oldest museum was founded in the 1920s. Works by original members of the Taos Society of Artists are displayed here along with contemporary local works, photographs, a collection of Hispanic art and temporary exhibitions.

Taos Art Museum

Another historic home – the Fechin House – now contains the Taos Art Museum. Russian artist Nicolai Fechin moved here with his family in 1927, remodeling the old adobe building with beautiful Russian-style woodcarving and furniture. In addition to Fechin's works, the highlight of the museum's collection centers around paintings by the original members of the Taos Society of Artists, such as Joseph Henry Sharp's portraits of Native Americans.

Millicent Rogers Museum

One of the best showcases for Southwestern art and design is set just outside the town center, near the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. This museum was founded by Millicent Rogers, a beautiful heiress and patron of the arts, who moved to Taos in 1947.

Among its highlights are exquisite pieces of silver and turquoise jewelry by Navajo and Pueblo artisans, Navajo weavings, Native American basketry and Kachina dolls. Heading the superb exhibits of Pueblo pottery is the collection of black-on-black pieces by renowned potter Maria Martinez and her family.

Kit Carson Home and Museum

A fascinating look at life in the American West is on display at the former home of one of its most famous frontiersmen, Kit Carson. He left home to join a wagon train at the age of 17, and worked as a cook, fur-trapper, scout, Indian agent, soldier and Army general before settling in Taos with his 14-year-old bride in 1843. Among the exhibits are photographs, antique guns and traps, family furniture and memorabilia.

Governor Bent House and Museum

A less popular figure was Charles Bent, who became New Mexico's first Anglo governor in 1846. Native American and Hispanic residents resented American rule, and the following year he was killed in his home in Taos. The adobe house still bears the hole hacked into it by his family as they tried to escape from the attack. Museum exhibits include firearms, animal skins and other artifacts from frontier life.

The copyright of the article Best Art & History Museums in Taos in New Mexico Travel is owned by Donna Dailey. Permission to republish Best Art & History Museums in Taos in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.