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| Spellbound in New Mexico, Part II: Taos By Augustus Mayhew With the Venice Biennale and Art Basel on everyone's June calendar, I must have been the only aesthete who fled to Taos and Santa Fe, missing, of all things, virtuoso Kanye West's particular form of visual art. Instead, I spent time at a place that may no longer be on the international art map, but instead, where art was/is aimed to hang on walls rather than amassed for tax/currency purposes and stored in vaults like cigars in humidors. While the artists and patrons who once made Taos have long since passed, their legacy surprisingly lives on among some of the town's present-day artists and galleries who find inspiration living in this remote, far-flung, high desert landscape with some of the most unearthly beautiful light I have ever felt. I arrived in Taos from Espanola on the Low Road with only the slightest suspenseful S-curves, passing along the whitewater rafters racing down the Rio Grande Gorge. Some mornings I could not resist being up at 5 a.m. to feel the light and watch the shadows. One night was spent watching a thunderstorm where I felt I could almost touch the clouds as lightening seemed to shake the trees. Although I have no plans of spending a winter in Taos, my next trip might be in late spring or early fall as the afternoon heat was intense. The spirit of Taos, though perhaps not as pure as when Mable Dodge Luhan held court, is still very much present. |
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| Taos Pueblo The Red Willow People (Taos means "red willow") no longer occupy the historic pueblo, just a short drive past the tribal casino. Instead, the pueblo is their public showcase and they live in surrounding houses. After paying the entrance fee, I paid the additional $6 camera fee. I didn't stay long, as I found, no matter the magnificent scenery and historic substance, I felt the circumstances and fate of the Red Willow People unsatisfying. |
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| Historic Taos |
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| Arroyo Seco A quaint mountain town-art colony a few miles north of Taos, Arroyo Seco may be best known for its residents, Donald Rumsfeld and Julia Roberts, who actually own adjoining properties. "Does anyone ever leave Arroyo Seco?" I asked Scott Carlson, whose pottery shop is on the village's main thoroughfare. "Not likely," he said. |
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| Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs & Spa A scenic 45-minute drive from Taos, Ojo Caliente was enough of a relaxing pleasurable half-day escape for me that I want to plan on spending two days here the next time. |
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| Ledoux Street Historic District & The Harwood Museum of Art Just a block or two downhill from the Plaza, Ledoux Street has an eclectic mix of galleries and cafes, including Larry Bells studio and the Blumenschein House, as well as the Harwood Museum of Art. |
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| Taos Art Museum at Fechin House 227 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos On August 24th, the Taos Museum will be having a Russian Night Gala and Auction to benefit the museum. |
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| Parsons Gallery of the West & Robert L. Parsons Fine Art 122 Kit Carson Road & 131 Bent Street, Taos, www.parsonsart.com Of the Taos galleries I was able to visit, I was most impressed with the collections at the two galleries owned by Robert L. Parsons. |
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| Couse-Sharp Studio & Couse House 146 East Kit Carson Road, Taos, www.cousefoundation.org Although the studio and house are only open by appointment and it was late afternoon, I somehow eventually knocked on the right door where I was greeted by Virginia Couse Leavitt, the famous artist's granddaughter, who happens to stay at the house during the summer months. What a pleasure meeting Virginia, whose father kept his father Eanger Irving Couse's studio and main house just as it was. After studying at the National Academy of Design in New York, Couse enrolled in art classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris before living in France for several years. Coming to Taos in 1902, Couse spent every summer there until 1927 when he moved to Taos permanently. He shared his property's attached chapel-studio with his mentor Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), who along with Couse and others, formed the seminal Taos Society of Artists. Couse's paintings were said to have inspired Mabel Dodge Luhan to come to Taos. |
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| The Couse Studio & House |
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| Ranchos de Taos |
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| Next: Spellbound in New Mexico, Part III: The High Road to Santa Fe, Trampas, Chimayo, & Old Santa Fe. |
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| Photographs by Augustus Mayhew. Augustus Mayhew is the author ofLost in Wonderland – Reflections on Palm Beach. |