On June 15, collectors, artists and fans of Northern New Mexico and its rich history descended on the Couse-Sharp Historic Site for its biennial La Luz de Taosgala. By the end of the evening, the site and its new archives, the Lunder Research Center, benefited greatly from a huge sale and party that realized nearly $350,000, of which more than $275,000 will go directly to the site and its programming.
Visitors take a tour through Joseph Henry Sharp’s studio at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site.
The event, which featured a silent and by-draw sale, was hugely successful for the site, with Davison Packard Koenig, Couse-Sharp executive director, noting it was the “most successful gala to date.”
“Events like this are about growing relationships and building awareness of the work we do here at the site,” he says. “Between the high caliber of artists and the amazing diplomats and friends who believe in what we do, we had an amazing group with us here in Taos for this show. We are thrilled with how it turned out.” Koenig says that not only was the event sold out, but they even opened up additional tickets to sell, which also sold out.
Michael Grauer, curator at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with Virginia Couse Leavitt, founder of the Couse Foundation and granddaughter of Eanger Irving Couse.
Highlights from the sale include the sale of a Mark Maggiori painting for $85,000 and a piece by Logan Maxwell Hagege for $26,000. The buyer of the Maggiori painting also bought a Navajo third-phase chief’s blanket shown in the painting for $58,000.
Koenig adds that he feels it’s the Couse-Sharp Historic Site’s responsibility to have high-quality shows in Taos to preserve what the founders of the Taos Society of Artists originally started.
Western Art Collector co-publisher Adolfo Castillo, left, with Davison Packard Koenig, executive director of the Couse-Sharp Historic Site.
“What we have here is a national story. Taos is nationally relevant because a hundred years ago these artists depicted what a multi-cultural America, and a multi-cultural Southwest, could look like. I would say that a show like this is even more relevant today than it was a hundred years ago,” Koenig says. “These are larger stories that aren’t just about Taos, but also the American West, Southwest and the country as a whole.”
The museum will make any unsold works available through July 15. —
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