Christmas In Taos

My friends Nancy Ortenstone and Pierre Delattre just moved into a new gallery space in Taos (Ortenstone Delattre Fine Art, 115 Bent Street, 575.737.0799), and had their grand opening recently, which I attended. I’ll be doing individual pieces on Nancy and Pierre later in the blog, but I wanted to share some photos of the night’s festivities here with you now. As it turned out, the Bent Street Holiday Block Party coincided with Nancy and Pierre’s grand opening, which made the night even more special. Add to that the fact Taos was named by Travel & Leisure Magazine as one of the “best destinations on Earth to spend Christmas”,  and I just had to share some holiday photos with you as well.

For those of you unfamiliar with Taos, it takes more than a surface glance to catch the charm of this town. You have to get off the main drag, deep into the side streets and what I call the “rabbit warrens”, the funky, old adobe houses that line what used to be dirt roads, I’m sure.

A walk through the historic district will take you by the Taos Inn. I recommend a visit inside to fully appreciate this group of old adobe homes that have been joined around an old courtyard and well, which now form the spectacular lobby. If so inclined, you might try dessert or brunch at Doc Martin’s, the hotel’s restaurant (the chili rellenos are not to be missed), or some holiday cheer in their Adobe Bar.

Nearby you’ll find historic Bent Street and the Governor Bent Museum, as well as the Kit Carson Home and Museum. A ways up Kit Carson Road is the home of Mabel Dodge Luhan, a writer, critic and arts patron who greatly influenced the early development of Taos as an artist’s colony of note.  Among her friends who stayed there were Georgia O’Keeffe, D.H. Lawrence, Carl Jung and Thorton Wilder, to name a few.

A stroll down Ledoux Street can be a great experience. It is lined with luminarias for the holidays (the traditional paper bag candles) and, during the “Lighting of Ledoux Street” festivities every Christmas, homes and businesses light farolitos (bonfires) and offer music and refreshments. You’ll find there, among the quaint old adobes, studios and galleries, the Harwood Museum of Art and the Blumenschein Museum (a Taos Historic Museum). Other museums of interest in Taos are the Taos Art Museum and Fechin House as well as the Millicent Rogers Museum.

For those of you who are interested in the sacred energy and heritage of Taos, try www.taossacredplaces.com. Also, the Taos Pueblo has a full holiday schedule of traditional dances from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Eve.

For any of you living near Taos, I highly recommend a visit to Ortenstone Delattre Fine Art, and for those further away, maybe you could think about Christmas in Taos next year. What do you think?

Learn more about The Ortenstone Delattre Fine Art Gallery at: ortenstonedelattre.com

Nancy Ortenstone: ortenstone.com

Pierre Delattre: pierredelattre.com