Santa
Fe has tons of art galleries, historic centers and museums for
your viewing pleasure. Categories range from a great children's
museum to the evolution of fine art. If you enjoy
American culture there are also many museums depicting the
history of Indians as well as the progression of the American
Southwest. Below we have highlighted some of the great
places for you to visit while you are here.
Landmarks &
Museums
Georgia
O’Keefe Museum - Open since 1997, this museum
displays the largest collection of Georgia O’Keefe's
paintings in the world, and is the only museum in the United
States dedicated to one woman’s work. Originally from the
East Coast, O’Keefe was among the many artists who fell in
love with the New Mexican desert landscape - she took up
residency here in the 1920s, and much of her work was inspired
by her time in Santa Fe and Taos.
Museum
of New Mexico - oversees four museums in Santa
Fe and five historic monuments located around the state. Older
than New Mexico itself, the Museum of New Mexico's facilities
house some of the country's most remarkable art and historic
and cultural works.
Museum
of Fine Arts - This museum is housed in one of
Santa Fe’s first Pueblo Revival-style buildings, built in
1917. Recognized as one of the finest regional art museums in
the country, its 8,000-piece permanent collection includes
works by Georgia O’Keefe, members of the Taos Society of
Artists (including Ernest L. Blumenschein and Bert Greer
Phillips), and several Mexican and Native American artists.
Museum
of Indian Arts and Culture - This museum
recently added an excellent, interactive, permanent exhibit
called, “Here, Now and Always,” which guides visitors
through thousands of years of Native American history. The
display includes artifacts (basketry, pottery, jewelry, and
textiles), videos of Native American storytellers, and
life-size models of a Navajo hogan and a trading post.
Contemporary artists regularly give demonstrations, classes,
and lectures at the museum.
Museum
of International Folk Art - Boasting the
largest collection of folk art in the world, this museum
houses handmade objects from all over the world. In your
exploration, you’ll find everything from a handmade tin
Madonna to a Chinese undergarment made from bamboo and cotton
to Palestinian costume jewelry. The museum’s mission is to
promote understanding among people of different cultures, and
there are several interesting dioramas throughout the museum
that depict people at play and work in settings around the
world.
Museum
of the Institute of American Indian Arts - This
museum in a renovated post office holds the most comprehensive
collection of contemporary Native American art in the world.
Exhibits change frequently, but usually include both
traditional and modern works by Native American artists. Much
of the work is created by students at the Institute of
American Indian Arts, the only congressionally chartered
school devoted to the study of American Indian art and
culture.
Palace
of the Governors - This humble-looking adobe
structure on the north side of the plaza is the oldest
continuously used public building in the United States. Built
in 1607, the palace served as the seat of the governments of
Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy and the U.S. Territories before
it became the first state capitol of New Mexico. It was also
the site of the only successful Native American uprising in
history, which took place on these grounds in 1680. Today, the
building houses the New Mexico State History Museum and the
Museum of New Mexico Press, which hosts bookbinding
demonstrations on antique presses. Several local Native
American artists set up booths outside the palace, selling
jewelry, pottery, and textiles.
Santa
Fe Children’s Museum - This interactive
museum is designed for the whole family, but children are
definitely in the driver’s seat here. Exhibits such as a
solar greenhouse and an 18-foot climbing wall are designed to
introduce children to the joys of science, and occasional
hands-on sessions with artists and storytellers encourage
development in the humanities.
Art Galleries
Andrea
Fisher-Fine Pottery
221 W San Francisco
505-986-1234
Kline/Fred
R Kline & Company
129 W San Francisco
505-988-1103
Arrowsmith's
Relics of the Old West Antique Indian Art
402 Old Santa Fe Trail
505-989-7663
Meredith-Kelly
Latin American Fine Arts
135 W Palace Ave/Grant
505-986-8699
Contemporary
Southwest Galleries
123 W Palace Av
505-986-0440
Nedra
Matteucci's Fenn Galleries
1075 Paseo De Peralta
505-982-4631
Photogenesis
A Gallery Of Photography
100 E San Francisco
505-989-9540
Santa
Fe has tons of art galleries, historic centers and museums for
your viewing pleasure. Categories range from a great children's
museum to the evolution of fine art. If you enjoy
American culture there are also many museums depicting the
history of Indians as well as the progression of the American
Southwest. Below we have highlighted some of the great
places for you to visit while you are here.