Taos art colony

The Taos art colony is an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico, by artists attracted by the rich culture of the Taos Pueblo and beautiful landscape. Hispanic craftsmanship of furniture, tin work and more played a role in creating a multicultural tradition of art work in the area.

In 1898 a visit of Bert Geer Phillips and Ernest L. Blumenschein to Taos was one of the first steps in the creation of the Taos art colony and the Taos Society of Artists. In addition to the society, Mabel Dodge Luhan was instrumental in promoting Taos to artists and writers within her circle.

In the early 20th century modern artists infused the area with a new artistic energy, followed in the 1950s by abstract artists. Taos supports more than 80 galleries and three museums. There are a number of organizations that support and promote the work of artists on the Taos Pueblo and in the Taos area.

Located in a tributary valley off the Rio Grande, Taos Pueblo is the most northern of the New Mexico pueblos. For nearly a millennium, the Taos Indians have lived there. It is estimated that the pueblo was built between 1000 and 1450 AD, with some later expansion. The Taos Pueblo is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. The pueblo, at some places five stories high, is a combination of many individual homes with common walls. There are over 1,900 people in the Taos pueblo community. Some of them have modern homes near their fields and stay at their homes on the pueblo during cooler weather. There are about 150 people who live at the pueblo year-around. The Taos Pueblo was added as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as one of the most significant historical cultural landmarks in the world; Other sites include the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and the Grand Canyon in the United States.

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