Tanks for the Memories: Taos Artistry
- Lindsay Britts
- Dec 7, 2017
- 3 min read
Getting inspired to do a little cruisin’ of your own? Ready to hit the road for a weekend ride to a place you’ve never been before? We can show you the best trips in your neck of the woods and you won’t even have to stop to fuel up. Each week, we pick a starting city and plan a getaway to some of the most charming, energetic, and just plain fun places that you’ll only need one tank of gas to reach. When it’s all over, you’ll be able to say… TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Starting City: Santa Fe, NM
Destination: Taos, NM
Distance: about 70 miles
Creativity often strikes during the holidays in the form of lavish decorations on our front lawns and daintily wrapped bows atop crisply-wrapped presents. The season of giving brings out the artist in everyone. Artists who create all year round sometimes live together to tap into their best work and then get to share it with the public. A place you can visit if you’re in Santa Fe is Taos, New Mexico, a city built on centuries of inspiration and filled with artistic spirit.
The pueblos on the north side of Taos were first occupied by Taos Puebloan people at the time of their creation, which was between 1000 and 1450 AD. (There are still Native Americans there today, making it one of the longest-inhabited communities in the world.) The Spanish invaded in the mid-1600s and there were many battles before eventually the Spanish overtook the Puebloans in 1696. After the Mexican-American War-- and after a local revolt against the invading United States Army-- the land was given to the US and became a territory in 1850.
The art colony in Taos was established in 1898, fourteen years before New Mexico became a state. The artists were inspired by traditional art from the Taos Puebloans as well as Hispanic settlers. From 1915 to 1927, the Taos Society of Artists drew considerable attention for their vibrant paintings of Native and Southwestern life, and its founders “applied academic technique to native themes to produce a uniquely American school of painting” until the depression ended its livelihood. Georgia O’Keefe stayed in Taos for summers before she moved to Abiquiu, New Mexico permanently. Ansel Adams took photography in the region and had exhibits in the local art galleries. There are three art museums in Taos. The Taos Art Museum at Fechin House was built in the home of Alexander Fechin, a Russian portrait painter who moved to the US and was inspired by the “thought Pueblo Indians possessed the same spirit as well as other qualities of the Tartars of his homeland”. The Harwood Museum was built by a French couple and in its beginnings not only served as an art gallery but the town’s library. It has several exhibitions a year including The Agnes Martin Gallery, a permanent installation and exhibition of seven of the artist’s paintings. Thirdly, the Millicent Rogers Museum holds a massive collection of Native art, including turquoise jewelry, pottery, weavings, and many other traditional pieces.
Other activities in Taos are plentiful as its arts scene. There are festivals like the Lilac Festival, Wool Festival, and the annual Las Fiestas de Taos to honor the patron saints of the city. For motorcycle lovers, there is the Red River Memorial Weekend Motorcycle Rally. You can find the artistry in everything when you visit Taos!
STRETCH YOUR LEGS: Along Route 68 to Taos in Embudo, NM-- a path often called “the low road”-- is the Classical Gas Museum, a huge collection of gas station signs, pumps, and memorabilia. There are also vintage cars and trucks to see on-site. Fill up on fond memories here!
LEARN MORE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos%2C_New_Mexico
https://taos.org/
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