As a State Capital, Santa Fe presented us with a constant array of surprises. Because of the architecture and lay out of the city, we felt we were in the middle of a Western movie set. This certainly also held true with the New Mexico Museum of Art. Built in the Pueblo Revival Style during 1917, one block from the Plaza, it is not as big as some of the other art museums we've visited around the world. However, it is just as impressive. This is the oldest art museum in New Mexico and is one of eight operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Its more than 20,000 works present the talents of the historic Taos and Santa Fe art colonies of the past one hundred years, as well as contemporary artists from around the world. The museum's St. Francis auditorium plays host to the Santa Fe Community Orchestra and the annual Santa Fe Music Festival. Until now, we've not been exposed to very much Native American Art. I must admit that we were pleasantly surprised.
Local artist Esquipulo Romero de Romero captured a lot of the symbolism of the Southwest in this piece entitled "The Black Shawl" (1933).
The St. Francis auditorium hosts the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, as well as the annual Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.