Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios

The Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, also known as the Couse/Sharp Historic Site, is a property on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It includes the home and art studio of E. Irving Couse (1866–1936) and two studio buildings owned by Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), both founding members of the Taos Society of Artists. It was added to the NRHP on September 28, 2005.[1]

Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios
The Couse Studio (left), formerly a family chapel
Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios is located in New Mexico
Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios
Location146 Kit Carson Rd, Taos, New Mexico
Coordinates36°24′29″N 105°34′18″W / 36.40806°N 105.57167°W / 36.40806; -105.57167
Area2.1 acres (0.85 ha)
Built1909 (1909)
Architectural styleMission/Spanish Revival, Pueblo
NRHP reference No.05001096[1]
NMSRCP No.1865
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 28, 2005
Designated NMSRCPFebruary 13, 2004

History

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E. Irving Couse, who studied art in New York and Paris, was introduced to Taos by fellow artist Ernest Blumenschein in 1902. He became part of the Taos artist colony and bought the house on Kit Carson Road in 1909. A wing was added to the house for Couse's studio and his wife developed a noteworthy garden. Following E. Irving Couse's death in 1936, no more changes were made to the house and it remains much as it did when Couse lived there, which made it "the significant building to survive from the early days of the Taos art colony."[2]

Prior to Couse's purchase of the house in 1910,[3] it was owned by parish priest Gabriel Ussel in the 1860s; He operated a boys' school from the house. Prior to Ussel, the house was owned by James Quinn, who in the 1850s was a scott captain serving under Kit Carson. The house was originally built by Pedro Luna in 1839.[2]

Having spent some summers in New Mexico and having grown to appreciated the area, in 1909 Joseph Henry Sharp purchased a former Penitente chapel in Taos near the home of E. Irving Couse for use as a studio.[4][5] He then built a two-story house with studio near the chapel[6] and he and his wife Addie moved to Taos permanently in 1912. His historic studios in Taos are maintained as part of The Couse/Sharp Historic Site.[6]

The site open to the public by appointment.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Historic Taos: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of 22 Historic Taos Landmarks. Archived 2014-08-24 at the Wayback Machine Taos.org p. 26. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  3. ^ Nelson, Mary Carroll (1980). The Legendary Artists of Taos. New York: Watson-Guptill. p. 47. ISBN 0823027457.
  4. ^ Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), Taos Painters Website, n.d.
  5. ^ Berman, Avis. "Art: Taos Landscapes. Pioneer Artists Depict the Grandeur of New Mexico," Architectural Digest March 1987: 158-163
  6. ^ a b "The Couse Foundation and The Couse/Sharp Historic Site". Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
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