Blumenschein Home on Ledoux

The first full day of our trip, we headed to Ledoux Street. 203 Fine Art is at the apex. We have stayed at their Casita and always enjoy seeing the work of Shaun Michel and Eric Andrews. they show Early Moderns to Contemporary. Then sadly, we walked by what was R.C. Gorman's Navajo Gallery. something terrible has befallen his Legacy. I don't have the gory details but a look into La Fonda's Lobby says it all.

Then down Ledoux, we stopped to see the Artist in Residence at Buck Dunton's Studio. Next we stepped back 100 years to a magical tour of the Blumenshein home.

In autumn of 1898, a broken wagon wheel resulted in Taos becoming a great American art colony. Young American artists Ernest L. Blumenschein and Bert G. Phillips were on a sketching trip from Denver to northern Mexico when the wheel of their wagon slipped into a deep rut and broke on the mountainous road just north of Taos.  Ernest Blumenschein made the twenty-mile trek to Taos with the broken wheel. The delay gave them time to become captivated by the landscape and cultures of the Taos Valley.  Blumenschein and Phillips spread the word about the beauty of Taos and urged other artists to come and see for themselves.  Many artists came and saw; some of them came and stayed.

Bert Phillips remained in Taos from that time forward.  Blumenschein returned to Taos often over the next two decades for short periods of sketching and painting when he was not studying and working in Paris. In Paris, he met and fell in love with Mary Shepherd Greene.  Mary had lived in France since 1886 where she had become a recognized artist, winning medals in the famous Paris Salon d'Automne in 1900 and 1902.

Blumenscheinreturned to  Taos every summer until 1919, when he and his wife, Mary Greene Blumenschein, purchased four rooms from a fellow member of the Taos Society of Artists, W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton.  Between 1919 and 1931, the Blumenscheins acquired several of the adjoining rooms and remodeled and adapted the home to its present layout. 

We totally enjoyed time in every room. Mary’s work was enchanting and photos of all the Society of Six and their families are so interesting. We noticed all week how resourceful the women were to raise families and make homes in these dirt floor, no runnung water, rough homes. Blumenshein was so competitive as an artist that he asked Mary to stop painting. She did for awhile and then resumed. There is a charming photo of Helen drawing while her mother painted. There are photos of all the families many whose descendants live in Taos today.

The home is furnished with the Blumenscheins’ original belongings and paintings. I loved standing in his studio as it had been. Some of the paintings by other members of the Taos Society of Artists and later artists were donated to the museum by members of the community as a tribute to the early years of the art colony. In 1962, Helen Greene Blumenschein gave the family’s home and furnishings as a gift to the community of Taos. The museum celebrates the lives and art of Ernest L. Blumenschein, Mary Shepherd Greene Blumenschein and their daughter Helen.  It also celebrates the formation of the Taos Society of Artists and Taos.

Read more and see photos at Two Graces Gallery blogspot. Robert Cafazzo is a terrific artist and historian in Taos now. He and his wife, Holly Seivers, are essential and generous community members. Visit Two Graces in Ranchos Plaza at the beginning of your trip to get good guidance about what's happening. We ended our trip there and walked away with our arms loaded with books.

Taos, New Mexico in my heart

In 1975, Art and Betty Armantrout left Vail, Colorado to discover the next place they wanted to live. They traveled a large loop through the Southwest in their Ford station wagon pulling a pop-up camper. For six weeks, they camped near Tucson and studied silversmithing with a teacher. (Navajo and Zuni styles). Wrapping back up to Taos, New Mexico, they found the enchanting place that they wanted to settle. They bought a Yarn Store that was located on Bent Street where Lambert’s is now.  

Art built display cases for beautiful woolen yarns and for the jewelry. They made friends with the Goldsmith across the hall, Julian, and his then partner, Jo Carey. Ann and Boyd, the tatoo artist upstairs, and other locals. Eight weeks after they arrived, Art died unexpectedly from an abdominal aneurysm.

My valiant, creative mother, stayed in Taos and made a life for herself. Taos in the 70’s and early 80’s was the wild west and home to famous artists, and, not as famous, hippies. She ran the Yarn Store for a year and Julian, Jo, Ann, and Boyd and other friends made sure she didn’t stay home and feel desperate. She made friends with R.C. Gorman, Jim Wagner, and other artists. For awhile there was jazz at a club down Kit Carson Road. There was always a party at El Patio. She moved to town from Flo Zeigfeld’s dirt floor home off Ranchitos. Her apartment is now Inger Jirby’s east Casita, on Ledoux, a block from the Plaza and across from R.C. Gorman’s Navajo Gallery. Listen for the bells from Guadalupe Church.

I made many trips to Taos from Denver. On the second trip, I took mom’s cocker puppy, Tag, down. Betty made friends with many people in tri-cultural Taos. Some friends’ families spent generations in Taos. Barbara and Anne Brenner were especially good friends to her. After selling the Yarn Store, Betty became Director of the Taos Chamber of Commerce. That put her talents right to work. She was in the thick of it, as the Taos Fall Arts Festival began and flourished. I have many wonderful wild west stories and memories from those years, 1975-1981.

In 2013,  Cynthia and I reunited Betty and Art. We took Betty’s ashes back to Taos. As we sat having lunch on Bent Street, looking across at what had been their shop window, I became aware of time as an illusion, and knew their adventure would pick up where they left off. I am so grateful for a deep connection to Taos, New Mexico and it’s people.

 

Betty and Jim Wagner.

Reconnection to Spirit exhibition will end on September 1st, 2016

Jimmy Sellars of Sellars Project Space in Salida, Colorado is presenting my work in the Twitchell Building at 101N F Street. I am so pleased to see and offer my work in this beautiful space as only Jimmy Sellars could hang it. The reception on August 13th was terrific with a rich conversation with Mel Strawn, who will show there in the fall. I appreciate Mel's thoughtful understanding of the work. My dear friends, and forever collectors, drove their airstream Dot up from Forbes Trinchera and surprised me. Many other collectors and friends made the effort to get to Salida to see the Exhibition. I thank each of you. Thank you for noticing the groupings, enjoying the work, and posting your photos! Hanging out with Jimmy and Mark Monroe is always a treat. Here is the press release for the show.

"Colorado artist Linda Armantrout continues the exploration of legend and spiritual partnerships. Through her symbolically charged animals and people as messengers of the power of Spirit, she paints from a state of exploration and experimentation. Her intention is to allow room in each piece for the viewer to find personal meaning and connection.

Sellars Project Space is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and always by appointment. Located within 2 1/2 hours from most major metro areas in Colorado, 3 1/2 hours from Santa Fe, and an 1 1/2 hours from Aspen. Known as the “Best Little Art Town in Colorado,” Salida is Colorado’s first designated Creative District. For more information on Sellars Project Space’s artists, programs, and community events visit SellarsProjectSpace.com or call (719) 221-9893."

  

 

Denver Art Museum Show

Much of the material that I teach connects to the art of abstract expressionists. For my students and any appreciator of paintings this will be a must see show! Thank you Gwen Chanzit and the DAM.

"As you're making your summer vacation plans, you might want to include a trip to the Denver Art Museum for their exhibit Women of Abstract Expressionism, opening June 12 and supported by a grant from the NEA. While Abstract Expressionism brings to mind artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Robert De Niro, Sr., only a few women painting at the same time garnered any name recognition, and even so, for many, this recognition came far later in their careers. Some, such as Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning, devoted themselves to managing their husband's careers at the expense of their own. Others worked outside the major art hubs far from the attention of critics. Thanks to the Denver Art Museum, many more of these prodigiously talented women will take their place in the spotlight." Click here to read more.

Elaine DeKooning, Bullfight

Agnes Martin

The Harwood Museum in Taos has a stunning collection of Agnes Martin's work.To all artists and my students, take a closer look at Agnes. This is an interesting article from the LA Times about the reclusive artist.  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-agnes-martin-nancy-princenthal-biography-lacma-20160411-column.html