Harwood Museum of Art facts for kids
The Harwood Museum of Art is a cool place to see art in Taos, New Mexico. It was started in 1923 by the Harwood Foundation. This makes it the second oldest art museum in New Mexico! The museum has many different types of art. You can see Hispanic art, works by the Taos Society of Artists, art from the "Taos Moderns," and even art from today. In 1935, the University of New Mexico bought the museum. Since then, it has grown to include a big room for events, a library, and more space to show art.
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Amazing Art Collections
The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos has a huge collection of over 1,700 artworks. It also has 17,000 photos! The art goes all the way back to the 1800s and up to now. It shows off the many different cultures and ideas that have shaped the art community in Taos. The museum's art is grouped into several main types: Hispanic art, art from the Taos Society of Artists, Taos Moderns, Contemporary art, and Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.
Hispanic Art Collection
The Harwood Museum has a wide variety of Hispanic artworks. This includes paintings, shiny tinware, and beautiful woodworking. These pieces show the amazing skills that have been passed down since the Spanish first came to New Mexico.
Woodworking Art
It was very expensive to ship furniture from Mexico City a long time ago. So, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, people in New Mexico started their own carpentry shops. They made carved furniture like cajas (storage chests) and trasteros (kitchen cupboards). The Valdez workshop in Taos County made special pieces with carved asterisk marks. Some of these artworks were painted in bright red and blue colors.
Tin Artistry
Tin work was a very important part of Hispanic religious life in the 1800s. Artists used tin cans, glass, and religious pictures to create special devotional objects. There were 13 tin workshops in New Mexico between 1840 and 1915. Later, around the year 1900, tinsmiths mostly made items for homes. These included things like sconces (wall lights), lanterns, and small trinket boxes.
Santos: Sacred Art
Santos are sacred images used in Catholic homes and churches. People have been making them in New Mexico since the late 1700s. The museum has santos from 1800-1850 that were given by Mabel Dodge Luhan. It also has newer works. The Harwood has the biggest public collection of art by Patrociño Barela (1900-1964). He was a famous leader for modern santeros (santo makers). Some of his carvings in the museum were even shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York!
Spanish Colonial Revival
During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a "Spanish Colonial revival" in art. This style showed up in many art forms. You could see it in furniture, tinware, buildings, and even colcha embroidery (a type of stitching). The government and private groups helped fund programs. They hired teachers to teach these old craftsmanship skills. The New Deal program in Taos had a school for tin and furniture making. Pieces like tin chandeliers, armarios (cabinets), and mesas (tables) were made there. Some of these pieces are still used in the Harwood Museum today.
Taos Society of Artists
The Taos Society of Artists was formed in 1915. These artists were inspired by the Taos Pueblo people and the beautiful Taos landscape. Famous artists like Joseph Henry Sharp and Ernest L. Blumenschein were part of this group. They had studied art in Europe. They wanted an organization like the Barbizon School in France, which focused on painting landscapes. The Taos Society of Artists organized shows of their art that traveled all over the United States. Their paintings often showed Native Americans, Hispanics, early Anglo-American settlers, and the local scenery. The group stopped working together in 1927.
Taos Moderns
In the 1940s, a new group of artists came to Taos. Some of them were able to study art thanks to the G.I. bill. They brought ideas from European and American modern art. These artists came from places like New York City and San Francisco. These cities were big centers for abstract painting after World War II. By the 1950s, Taos became one of the most important places for modern art in the country. These artists became known as the "Taos Moderns." Andrew Dasburg came to Taos and helped many of these new artists. Some of these rising artists included Agnes Martin and Edward Corbett. Other famous artists who visited included Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt.
Like the earlier artists, the Taos Moderns showed the colorful New Mexico landscape and its cultures. They were inspired by the "timelessness" they saw in Puebloan culture. They also noticed the deep connection to the land shared by Native Americans and Hispanics. This inspired them to try new things in their own art. Instead of just painting realistic pictures, they wanted to capture the true meaning of their subjects.
Contemporary Art
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of change for the Taos art colony. Many of the artists who had guided the art community passed away. These included Mabel Dodge Luhan and Andrew Dasburg. A new generation of artists also arrived. This happened when Dennis Hopper came to Taos to finish his movie "Easy Rider." He stayed and bought Mabel Dodge Luhan's old home. Like her, he invited artists, musicians, and famous people to visit him in Taos.
Many contemporary artists came to Taos during this time. These included Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, and R. C. Gorman. Some of them moved to Taos for good, while others spent part of each year there. The Harwood Museum has a large piece called "Death Shrine 1" from a project by Kenneth Price. This piece is on a long-term loan to the museum. The Harwood also has many works by Larry Calcagno and R. C. Ellis. Taos continues to be a second home for artists from all over. This helps the Taos art colony keep its international reputation.
In 2009, the Harwood Museum had a special art show. It was put together by Dennis Hopper himself! The show was called Hopper Curates - Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, Ronald Davis, Kenneth Price & Robert Dean Stockwell .
Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
The Harwood Museum of Art shows off works from its collection of prints, drawings, and photographs. They also display works that are on loan from other places. The museum has art by early artists like Howard Cook and Nicolai Fechin. Joseph Imhoff was the first person to bring a lithography press to Taos. The collection also includes works by the Taos Moderns, such as Andrew Dasburg. You can also see prints and drawings from more recent artists like Larry Calcagno and Kenneth Price.
The museum's collection also has more than 17,000 photos! These pictures show Taos art and artists, Hispanic villages, and Indian Pueblos.
Museum History
Burt and Elizabeth Harwood left their home in France in 1916. They moved to Taos and bought a group of small adobe buildings on Ledoux Street. For the next three years, Burt Harwood managed the remodeling of the buildings. He made sure they looked like local buildings. He named the whole place "El Pueblito," which means "The Little Town."
The Harwoods soon realized there was no public library in Taos. So, they opened their own large private library to everyone! Mabel Dodge Luhan helped them by donating books and money. The Harwood often showed pottery, textiles, wood sculptures, and santos. The museum officially started in 1923. This makes it the second oldest art museum in New Mexico.
In 1929, the University of New Mexico started an art school at the Harwood. The Harwood Foundation was given to the University of New Mexico in 1935. It then became a place for university programs in Taos County, New Mexico. In 1937, it was made even bigger by John Gaw Meem. This expansion added an auditorium, a stage, more exhibition space, and a library.
In 1997, the Harwood Museum opened after another big renovation and expansion. This included the Agnes Martin Gallery. This special gallery holds seven paintings that the artist donated to the museum. Agnes Martin herself helped design the octagonal (eight-sided) room. This gallery brings visitors from all over the world. Experts have even compared it to famous chapels like the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp.
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