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Life at Taos

Aspiring to create sketches in color of the Indians and thier surroundings while on vacation, Professor of Art, Blanche Grant and Nebraska State Historian, Martha Turner arrived at Taos in June of 1920. By August Ms. Turner had returned to Nebraska while Blanche Grant resigned from her position at the University of Nebraska and moved to Taos.

In 1921 Ms. Grant bought an adobe house at La Loma in Taos, where she added a studio that same year. At La Loma she is neighbors with Oscar E. Berninghaus and W. Herbert Dunton, two of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists. She would eventually become friends with all of the Taos Society members. According to people at the old book store at Taos, Ms. Grant would divide her time between painting at her studio in spring through summer and research and writing in the fall and winter.

Community Activism and Promoting Taos

Early on, Blanche Grant was active in community affairs at Taos, including advocating for the art colony and the indians of the Pueblo. in 1925 she published three Taos related books titled: "One hundred Years Ago in Old Taos, Taos Today, and Taos Indians. In her book "One Hundred Years Ago in Old Taos" Grant includes five illustrations of paintings by Taos Society artists including two by Joseph Henry Sharp, two by Eanger Irving Couse and one by Bert Geer Phillips. Here she also announces an upcoming book to be titled "Taos and its Artists". However, this doesn't appear to have ever been published.

In "Taos Today" she dedicated sections on "How to get to Taos", "What there is to see", "Where to go" and "What to do". There is also a calendar with dates of the various fiestas, dances and other celebrations of the Pueblo Indians. In addition, she lists local artists with studios where tourists are welcome to visit by appointment. The list includes the names of many Taos artists who are considered very important today, including:

Active Studios at Taos (1925)

* Victor Higgins — Desert Edge	* Catharine Carter Critcher — Pueblo Road
* Ernest L. Blumenschein — Simpson Street	* E. Martin Hennings — Pueblo Road
* Walter Ufer — Beaubien Lane	* Bert Geer Phillips — Pueblo Road
Leon Gaspard — La Lomita	* W. Herbert Dunton — La Loma
* Joseph Henry Sharp — Carson Street	* Oscar E. Berninghaus — La Loma
* Eanger Irving Couse — Carson Road	Blanche Chloe Grant — La Loma
Ralph Meyers — Mission Shop

* Member of the Taos Society of Artists

The First Taos Fire Department

There were a series of fires in the early 1930's that almost destroyed the entire Taos Plaza including Emil Bisttram's "Heptagon Gallery", the first art gallery in Taos. As a result Blanche Grant began to champion for the creation of a volunteer fire department. Up to this time fires were being quelled by towns people and a bucket brigade. Eventually a crew of volunteers was assembled and then the hunt was on for space and equipmnent. In this endeavor, Ms. Grant was able to enlist many of her friends in the art community to dontate a painting or two for the cause of purchasing space and equipment for the new department.

Later, when the fire department needed running water, Blanche was again involved in getting Taos incorporated as a city, which helped to enable funding from the US government and finally get running water to Taos.

Blanche was given honorary title of President of the Taos Volunteer Fire Deprtment, a title she held until her death in 1948.

Gallery at the Fire Department

Today there is an art gallery at the Taos Fire Department where over 250 paintings have been donated by Taos artists over the years. Donating art has become a tradition. Never, since the very beginning of the department has any painting ever been sold, so the collection has only grown over time. This gallery and the tradition of donating paintings can trace its roots directly back to Blanche Chloe Grant.

Death

On June of 16th of 1948, Taos suffered the loss of a good friend and champion for the community. Blanche was 73 years old. Many turned out to pay their respects including many from the art community. Her friends Oscar Berninghaus, Victor Higgins and E. M. Hennings were pallbearers. She is buried at Sierra Vista Cemetery.

Legacy

A selection of Grant's papers are held in the archives of the Houghton Library of the Harvard University Library.