Dr. Herring lead us to The Millicent Rogers Museum for our third day of class. At the museum, our class observed some outstanding historical collections of Native American jewelry, ceramics, paintings, and weavings; Hispanic textiles, metalwork, sculpture; and a wide range of contemporary Southwestern art.
Millicent Rogers was a fabulous woman who both consumed and created style. She was known to the world as an American beauty and fashion icon. She had a passion for life’s aesthetic pleasures. She journeyed to the beautiful and historic land of Taos, New Mexico. Taos, with its scenic beauty, tranquility, ideal climate and Native American culture, fueled her creativity. She believed the Southwestern Indian culture was a precious part of America’s heritage that had to be recognized and preserved.
As we toured the museum, it became apparent how instrumental she was in popularizing this rich culture; not only through her own jewelry creations, but through her lifetime collections of indigenous art.