Portions of the Blumenschein Home and Museum were built in 1797. Ernest Blumenschein, co-founder of the Taos Society of Artists, brought his family to the Taos in 1919. The artist and his family lived there for more than 40 years.
The Blumenschein Home is maintained much as it was when the artist and his family lived here. The home is filled with a superb collection of the Blumenschein family's art, a representative sampling of works by other famous Taos artists, fine European and Spanish Colonial style antiques, and the family's lifetime of personal possessions. The home beautifully illustrates the lifestyle of Taos artists in the first half of the twentieth century.
Ernest Blumenschein
In 1919 Ernest Blumenschein, one of the founders of the Taos Art Colony, purchased a four-room house on Ledoux Street from fellow artist W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton. Later the Blumenscheins acquired several adjoining rooms and adapted the home to its present layout in 1931. Ernest and his wife Mary, both European trained artists, were accomplished painters. Their daughter Helen was also an artist. According to history, in 1898 Blumenschein was traveling through the Southwest with Bert Phillips. The two men were young artists from the East on a sketching trip from Denver to Mexico.
While crossing northern New Mexico, a wheel from their surrey slipped into a deep rut and broke. Blumenschein rode 23 miles into Taos to have the wheel repaired. They remained in the area for two months, becoming so entranced with the beauty of Taos Valley that they decided to make it their home. By 1915, Blumenschein and Bert Phillips were joined in Taos by fellow artists Joseph Sharp, Oscar Berninghaus, E. Irving Couse, and W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton. Together they created the Taos Society of Artists to promote their work across the country. This original group of artists was instrumental in developing Taos into a significant American art colony. By 1915, Blumenschein and Bert Phillips were joined in Taos by fellow artists Joseph Sharp, Oscar Berninghaus, E. Irving Couse, and W. Herbert “Buck” Dunton. Together they created the Taos Society of Artists to promote their work across the country. This original group of artists was instrumental in developing Taos into a significant American art colony