Which came first; the egg or the artist?

While Santa Fe thrives on the art economy supported by its many galleries, it is also a city filled with nonprofit art collections. There are several museums in downtown Santa Fe alone, with focal points often on Native American art, and historical specimens spanning the 400 years since Santa Fe’s establishment. There are also museums dedicated to other areas of the art world, like international folk art, Spanish colonial art and the largest collection of Georgia O’keeffe paintings in the world.

Photo courtesy of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

            The museums, of course, deal with a lot of historical research behind the art that they display. By taking a look at New Mexico’s art history, it is easy to see the evolution of Santa Fe as a creative town. In my post about Ronnie Layden, I mentioned that the art existed before the city did. That is largely due to the land’s natural properties, which Native American art predominantly showcases. Turquoise is one of the prize stones in indigenous jewelry and clay pots painted with natural, handmade pigments are still crafted with ancient techniques. At Santa Fe’s museums, those techniques are documented so that one can trace much of the Southwestern and Native American art even predating the establishment of “the city different.”

Master of traditional pottery, Maria Martinez. Photo courtesy of canyonroadarts.com.