Millicent Rogers Museum facts for kids
The Millicent Rogers Museum is an art museum in Taos, New Mexico. It was started in 1956 by the family of Millicent Rogers. The museum first showed art from Millicent Rogers' own collections. Her mother, Mary B. Rogers, also gave many early pieces of Taos Pueblo art. In the 1980s, the museum was the first place in New Mexico to show a lot of Hispanic art.
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Museum History
In 1947, Millicent Rogers moved to Taos, NM. She was the granddaughter of a founder of Standard Oil. Millicent was a talented designer and supported the arts. She loved to collect things. Her collection of Native American jewelry and weavings is very important. It shows a lot about art and design in the Southwestern United States.
Millicent Rogers passed away in 1952 when she was 50 years old. The museum first opened in a temporary spot in the mid-1950s. In 1968, the museum moved to its permanent home. This building was once a house built by Claude J. K. and Elizabeth Anderson in Taos. In the 1980s, the famous architect Nathaniel A. Owings made changes and added to the museum.
Art Collections
The museum has a large collection of art. This art comes from Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo-American cultures. It especially focuses on pieces from northern New Mexico and Taos, New Mexico.
The museum's collection includes:
- pottery, like very old and modern pots from the area. There is also a special collection of pottery by Maria Martinez.
- paintings
- photography and graphics
- arts and crafts
- jewelry
- Old and new Hispanic religious and home arts. This includes furniture and fabrics.
- Zuni and Hopi kachina figures.
Celebrating Many Cultures
Millicent's mother, Mary B. Rogers, helped a lot with the Pueblo Indian art. In the early 1980s, the museum started showing Hispanic art. It was the first big cultural place in New Mexico to do this. Millicent collected over 1,200 pieces of Native American and Hispanic jewelry. She also collected more than 50 Native American and Hispanic textiles. These included Navajo chief blankets and colcha embroidery.
Native American Art and Rights
Millicent Rogers worked to help Native American rights. She also used her social connections in the mid-1900s. She wanted Native American art to be called "historic." This helped protect the art and gave it special importance.
The museum's collection has baskets and pottery. Native Americans have made and used these for about 2,000 years.
Art from Taos Pueblo
The museum wants people to understand Native American art better. So, it has works from Taos Pueblo painters and potters. You can see examples of old micaceous clay pottery. There is also a large collection of art made by 7th and 8th grade children. These works, called Oo-oonah, were made from 1968 to 1972.
Paintings by Pueblo artists are part of the museum's collection. These include works by Albert Looking Elk (Martinez), Albert Lujan, Juan Mirabal, and Juanito Concha. Many of the paper artworks show the daily lives of people from the Southwest Pueblo.
Zuni and Hopi Kachina Figures
The museum has Zuni and Hopi kachina figures. These figures represent spiritual beings. Zuni kachinas are believed to live in a faraway part of Arizona. They are thought to bring life by giving rain. They also help hunters and farmers be successful. Kachinas are also believed to influence people's good fortune and well-being.
Hispanic American Art
The museum's collection includes traditional and modern Hispanic religious and home arts. This means furniture and textiles. Santos are religious art pieces. They started in the late 1600s. Some are paintings on flat boards called retablos. Others are carved from wood and called bultos. Tinware probably came from Mexico and Spain. It was used for religious decorations and household items. These included wall lights and mirrors. Tinware became very popular in the mid-1800s.
In 1993, the museum showed a piece by Cuban-American artist Agnez Chavez. It was called Light Forms: Jungle Rhythms.
Many Hispanic people needed to be self-sufficient. They used skills like woodworking, weaving, tinsmithing, and leather work. They made furniture and things for their homes. The museum has examples of these amazing crafts.
Museum Store
The museum store sells multicultural artwork by local artists. You can find jewelry, ceramics, textiles, woodwork, graphics, and photography. The store also has many books. These books are about the arts, architecture, literature, and the cultures of the Southwestern United States.
See also
