The Mabel Dodge Luhan House, also known as the Big House, is a historic house at 240 Morada Lane in

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Ch ...

, United States. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1991. and It is now used as a hotel and conference center. It was a home of arts supporter and writer Mabel Dodge Luhan (1879–1962), where she orchestrated one of the most successful artistic

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

environments in the early 20th century United States, hosting well-known writers, painters, photographers, and musicians, and nurturing the young

Taos art colony The Taos art colony was an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico, by artists attracted by the culture of the Taos Pueblo and northern New Mexico. The history of Hispanic craftsmanship in furniture, tin work, and other mediums also played a ...

Description

The Mabel Dodge Luhan House is located near the eastern edge of the town center of Taos, at the end of Morada Lane. The house, originally part of a larger compound, is a 20+ room adobe construction up to three stories in height. Stylistically it is an early example of what is now recognized as the Pueblo Revival style, blending elements of traditional Native American Pueblo elements with those of the Spanish Colonial period.

History

The house was built between 1917 and 1922, using largely tradition Puebloan construction methods, and incorporates into its structure two older buildings. The work was overseen by Tony Luhan, a Native American whom Mabel Dodge later married. The public spaces of the interior include the large "Big Room", a two-section chamber that doubles as entrance vestibule, and the "Rainbow Room", so named for the colors painted on the ''latilla''s (the crossing members of the ceiling above the vigas). The house was the largest of several small houses Luhan had built on her property; the others served as additional guest quarters, and have not been well preserved. Mabel Dodge Luhan was born into a wealthy family and was well-educated in the arts. In the 1910s, she became well known for the salon-style gatherings at her

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

apartment. Her short marriage to painter

Maurice Sterne Maurice Sterne ( lv, Moriss Šterns, 1877 or 1878 – July 23, 1957), was an American sculptor and painter remembered today for his association with philanthropist Mabel Dodge Luhan, to whom he was married from 1916 to 1923. Biography Ster ...

brought her to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

in 1917, where she soon bought the property near Taos, and sought to recreate the salon atmosphere in the budding art colony. Her endeavour was highly influential, furthering the careers of writers Willa Cather and

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, artists and photographers including

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

, and

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

. Musical guests included composer and conductor

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

and composer

Dane Rudhyar Dane Rudhyar (March 23, 1895 – September 13, 1985), born Daniel Chennevière, was a American author, modernist composer and humanistic astrologer. He was a pioneer of modern transpersonal astrology. Biography Dane Rudhyar was born in Paris on ...

. While resident here, Luhan also wrote seven books on cultural and intellectual aspects of American society. The house was later owned for a time by actor

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...

. It presently is used as a hotel and conference center, with a focus on education.

Gallery

File:Mabel Dodge Luhan 6.JPG, Mabel Dodge Luhan House File:Mabel Dodge Luhan 7.JPG, Outdoor deck File:Mable Dodge Luhan 13.JPG, Garden File:Mabel Dodge Luhan 10.JPG, Entrance

References

External links

Mabel Dodge Luhan House
a historic inn. {{DEFAULTSORT:Luhan, Mabel Dodge, House Adobe buildings and structures in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Taos, New Mexico Houses completed in 1922 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture in Taos, New Mexico Tourist attractions in Taos, New Mexico Houses in Taos County, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Taos County, New Mexico

Description

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links