A Taos mosaic: Portrait of a New Mexico village

By Claire Morrill

Book Overview

Taos Mosaic, A: Portrait Of A New Mexico Village, by Morrill, Claire This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826303072
• ISBN13: 9780826303073
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 1.66 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A mosaic of impressions, people, and culture of Taos, New Mexico

I thoroughly enjoyed this rather short but concise book of 176 pages which covers many aspects of Taos: the Indian culture, the Spanish culture and the Anglo elements including writers and artists. Written by the owner of a bookstore in Taos, Claire Morrill has recorded the milieu of Taos in the early and mid 20th Century by speaking from personal experience of the people she knows in Taos including three influential women: Mabel Dodge Luhan, Frieda Lawrence, and artist Dorothy Brett. Somehow Ms. Morrill has captured the enchanting atmosphere of Taos by recording her impressions and interactions with the people there. She includes brief histories of the Spanish conquest of the area, the unique history of Land Grants established by the Spanish and forcefully changed by the Anglos, the Indian rebellions, uprisings and wars, the Society of Taos Artists, the three year residency of D. H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda after which they traveled to France where Lawrence died of Tuberculosis. Frieda then returned to Taos to live out her life on the ranch which was given to her by Mabel Luhan. Morrill includes an informative chapter on "Taosiana," the books written in and about Taos which offer useful suggestions for further reading. This book, together with Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop," and Mabel Dodge Luhan's "Winter in Taos" offer a great introduction to the unique and mysterious culture of Taos and Santa Fe area. Highly recommended.