Last year, the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House was set to open the exhibition Through the Eyes of Fechin, featuring Nicolai Fechin artwork from private collections around the country that have not previously exhibited in Taos. However, as with most events in 2020, plans changed and the New Mexico museum decided to reschedule the show. It is now set to open May 28, and with the delay came the positive of an expanded exhibition.
Taos Pueblo, oil on canvas, 1928, 21½ x 33”. Courtesy the Peterson Collection.
“We had planned to open this past May but then Covid hit,” says Christy Schoedinger Coleman, executive director of the museum. “We decided to postpone, but it’s allowed us to have more time to include more artwork and do additional research.” The show will explore all aspects of Fechin’s career through his artwork and documentation, including photographs from his travels, particularly Bali and Mexico. The approximately 25 to 30 paintings in the exhibition will be organized by portraits, still lifes and landscapes, and they represent some very early pieces from his youth in Russia through those made in the 1950s.
Taos Landscape, 11¼ x 17½”. Courtesy private collection, Alexandria, VA.“The artwork is primarily loans from individual collectors and a few from the Tia Collection,” explains Coleman. “We talked with someone who expressed interest in loaning work, and they knew people who to talk to. It’s been really fun just meeting people who own Fechins and learning why they collected his work.”
Little Girl Reading, oil on canvas, 20 x 16”. Courtesy private collection.
There will be several Taos landscapes on view in the show, including Taos Pueblo and Taos Landscape, highlighting the beautiful adobe homes and lands that are found throughout the area. There also will be a work depicting his studio, which being on the property allows visitors to see and experience the place the artist painted. “I think visitors will be interested in seeing the progression of style [we have in the exhibition],” she adds. “Being able to see paintings he did in the early 1920s, during his time in Taos and then from his time in California, that will be really interesting.”
Taos Art Museum at Fechin House is located at the artist’s home and studio.
Fechin House itself is a work of art by the artist, so visitors will be able to view not only the painted pieces but his home as they tour the show. “He designed and built the house himself with assistance from Pedro and Miguel Mirabal, who helped with the adobe and structural aspects of it,” says Coleman. “Fechin was also a woodcarver and every surface was touched by him. All of the doors were hand carved, radiator covers; he designed and made lanterns that can be seen throughout the house.”
Taos Art Museum at Fechin House is currently open Friday through Sunday, but for the most up-to-date information on safety protocols and visiting hours refer to the museum website.
Through the Eyes of Fechin
May 28, 2021-January 9, 2022
Taos Art Museum at Fechin House 227 Paseo del Pueblo Norte
Taos, NM 87571
(575) 758-2690
www.taosartmuseum.org
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