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Published: April 7th 2022
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Nicolai Fechin artist: A portrait of his wife
Nicolai Fechin (Nikolai Ivanovich Feshin; Russian: Николай Иванович Фешин; 26 November 1881 (Kazan, Russia) – 5 October 1955 (Santa Monica, California)) was a Russian painter known for his portraits and works featuring Native Americans.[2] After graduating with the highest marks from the Imperial Academy of Arts and traveling in Europe under a Prix de Rome, he returned to his native Kazan, where he taught and painted. He exhibited his first work in the United States in 1910 in an international exhibition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After immigrating with his family to New York in 1923 and working there for a few years, Fechin developed tuberculosis and moved West for a drier climate. He and his family settled in Taos, New Mexico, where he became fascinated by Native Americans and the landscape. The adobe house which he renovated in Taos is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used as the Taos Art Museum. After leaving Taos in 1933, Fechin eventually settled in southern California. Wikipedia After I posted the blog Tuesday night around 10:30, I heard strange sounds out in front of our room. When I looked out the door, there was a very bedraggled, but friendly man mopping the tiles, and saying something about the sound reminding him of Disneyland. I don't know if he actually worked there, thought he did, or just wandered by with a mop...but I said goodnight, and closed the door...
In the morning, after a short run, we packed up and drove to town to get breakfast sandwiches and coffee at a small stand, and then drove another mile to the charging station. Once full of electrons again, we headed north towards Santa Fe. We had asked a man from Santa Fe if there was anything of interest along our route, and after some thought, he replied "no"!
We did find an amazing mineral museum in Socorro, at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. The first collection was assembled here in 1889 and quickly became of the finest in the world. Tragedy stuck in 1928 when the entire collection was lost in fire. With the help of many donations, the museum reopened in 1938 and now
holds more than 15,000 unique pieces!
We charged again Albuquerque, and decided to visit the petroglyphs that were nearby. It was a very strange experience, since the entrance to the trail we took is in the middle of a suburban development, with no clue of the sacred land lying behind the houses. It was hot and windy there, but the history is amazing and we were among only a few people on the trail.
We ran into a few dust storms, and saw many more in the distance. It was very windy most of the day.
We decided not visit Santa Fe, since we had both been there before, and we wouldn't have gotten into Taos after dark. We drove through beautiful suburbs and then headed north. With the tribal casinos providing income, the area along the main highways is so much more built up than in the 90s when I was here last. We climbed up into the mountains and came out on a vast plain with a gorge cut by the Rio Grande. I found a place to "swim" in the river where it was shallow, but swift.
Once in Taos, we found our
hotel, checked in, and walked to a brewery for a delicious dinner. The moon was out on our walk back, and the temperature was slowly dropping from its high of 67 towards a low of 37 at night. Tonight it will be in the 20s!!!
Today we breakfasted at the hotel and then walked around Taos until mid-afternoon. While there is a steady stream of tourists, there are no crowds anywhere...nice for us, but bad for merchants.
We visited a few art museums, had a light lunch outside by the plaza, and I bought a few things to take home: a handcrafted tiny horse, dish towels, a beeswax candle, honey and cheese..all locally made. I also picked up a few things at a local thrift store. Today's "swim" was a dip in the spa...hard to find cold swimming water up here..
We ate dinner outside under a heater, but were the only ones out there. Tomorrow we head for our sixth state, Colorado.
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