Haciendas and Artists of Taos, Day 10, 14 August 2010

The interior walls were constructed in a number of steps and layers. Among the features of the house and tack room were a hand-forged hinge (with the adze marks from finishing the planks still in evidence on the doors) and a hand-braided lariat, from what looks like cotton.  Lariats from the early 1800's would have been made of leather, agave, or braided, spun cotton.Like everything in the hacienda, the doors were hand-jointed, glued with hide glue, and hand carved. It was anything but a throw-away society, so even smashed flintlock rifles were patched  -- sometimes even using strips of leather to hold them together.Because the one thing you do not want to run out of during an attack is water, the well was inside the hacienda courtyard. Transportation was by ox or donkey cart -- the one below resting near the wall in the mid-day sun with a long shadow cast by a drain spout in the wall.   The oxcart or donkey cart wheels did not have spokes -- instead they were cut out of sectioned, glued wood rounded for rolling. The Martinez's eldest son was the famous Padre Antonio Martinez who battled the French Bishop Lamy to preserve the Hispanic character of the Catholic Church in the territory.  Padre Martinez was a dynamic social reformer who created the first co-educational school in New Mexico and brought the first printing press to Taos. Tortured, bloody iconography was part of the deeply rooted Catholic tradition of the Southwest. The interior courtyard was surrounded on two sides by a covered passageway that protected the occupants from the direct heat of the mid-day sun. Saddles, like everything else, were hand-crafted and rock hard.  Twelve hours in one of these saddles chasing half-wild longhorns would prove or break a man. While a lot of things were precious where resources were so scarce and hard earned, socks, as it turned out, were particularly valued.  A wooden form was created for each family member, then socks were knit individually for each person.  Socks were so important and hard to come by, they were specifically called out in wills. Everything for the home was hand-constructed, and the wheat or corn from nearby fields, or from trade, had to be ground locally.  The Martinez family had their own stone grinding wheels, originally a matched set, top and bottom, probably "propelled" by a donkey walking in circles on the end of a large pole. One imagines that a hand-felted sombrero, the last bastion against the punishing sun, was as valued as the hand-knitted socks.  And handy for waving goodbye to visitors.From the Martinez Hacienda, we stopped by the Harwood Museum in Taos. 

Harwood Museum in Taos NM

Artists Flock to Taos -- In the early part of the 20th Century, many artists were drawn to the Taos area to pursue a new, truly American art devoid of industrial influence, inspired instead by New Mexico's landscape and light and the traditional Native American and Hispanic cultures of the region. The Harwood Museum collection brings to the public a unique record of this artistic convergence from its beginnings to the present day.  

The Harwoods -- Artists Burt and Elizabeth Harwood left their residence in France and moved to Taos in 1916. They bought property, and by 1918, The Harwood complex, then called El Pueblito, was on the forefront of the Pueblo/Spanish Revival and restoration movement in New Mexico. Discovering that Taos had no library, they established the  Harwood Library by 1926, and the community generously supported the growth of its collections. Mabel Dodge Luhan donated books from her private collection, contributed funds, and inspired other major support.

University Involvement -- In 1935, the Harwood Foundation was given to the University of New Mexico (UNM). As part of UNM, the Harwood received core support from the University and functioned as a base for University programs in Taos County. 

Harwood Expansion -- In 1937, UNM and the Works Projects Administration (WPA), working in cooperation to create an enhanced facility, embarked on a major expansion and renovation project of the Harwood complex. Designed by John Gaw Meem, one of the best known architects of the Southwest, the Harwood addition became one of the tallest adobe structures in northern New Mexico, and included an auditorium, stage, exhibition space, and a library facility. It now houses a very nice collection.  Two of the pieces that caught our eye were this cabin tucked at the base of the New Mexico mountains, and a painting that was one of Dave's favorites in the museum.

Cabin and Mountain Painting at Harwood Museum

Taos Mountain Painting at Harwood Museum

It was dark in the museum, and they didn't like "Flash" so we didn't take many photos.

From the Harwood, we went to the Couse/Sharp Historic Site and the house where artist E. Irving Couse had his studio and his salon of fellow Taos artists.Much of our information below is from that site.

Entrance to the Couse House

As It Was -- In the Couse house, nothing is under glass. It all remains as it was a hundred years ago, and you can almost imagine that Couse stepped away from his easel for a cup of tea.   The Couse house is still furnished with the original furniture and household items that belonged to the artist. The Couses' collections of early New Mexico furniture and Santos, Blue Willow china, and objects of copper, brass, and pewter decorate the living room and dining room.

After leaving the Couse house, we strolled around the immediate neighborhood of Taos, looking at the adobe construction and the classic Taos Blue trim. Here and there, blooms offered a texture and color contrast to the adobe and Taos blue trim. Even the gates in the area were works of art in their own right.We walked into the evening, and then drove back to Annie's house for dinner and nightcaps.