Bert Geer Phillips (July 15, 1868 – June 16, 1956) was an American artist and a founding member of the

Taos Society of Artists The Taos Society of Artists was an organization of visual arts founded in Taos, New Mexico. Established in 1915, it was disbanded in 1927. The Society was essentially a commercial cooperative, as opposed to a stylistic collective, and its foundation ...

. He settled in

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Ch ...

(1898) and was a founder of the

Taos art colony The Taos art colony was an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico, by artists attracted by the culture of the Taos Pueblo and northern New Mexico. The history of Hispanic craftsmanship in furniture, tin work, and other mediums also played a rol ...

. He is known for his paintings of Native Americans,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, and the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

. He was also a benefactor of the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

artist

Harold Dow Bugbee Harold Dow Bugbee (August 15, 1900 – March 27, 1963) was an American Western artist, illustrator, painter, and curator of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.Bugbee exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, ...

, who became

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas in 1951.

Early life and education

Phillips was born in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

in 1868. During his childhood he was influenced by tales of the exploits of American frontiersman

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

and other tales of

adventure involving American Indians, such as those in James Fenimore Cooper's '' Leatherstocking Tales''. In his recollections of childhood, he noted that he could always be found with paintbrush in hand. He was one of the first to enroll when

George McKinstry George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

opened an art studio in Hudson. Phillips left home at age sixteen, moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

where he attended the Art Students League of New York and the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

. In 1894 he traveled to Europe, briefly staying in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

before moving to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he studied at the Académie Julian. While at the Académie he became friends with Ernest Blumenschein and

Joseph Henry Sharp Joseph Henry Sharp (September 27, 1859 – August 29, 1953) was an American painter and a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, of which he is considered the "Spiritual Father". Sharp was one of the earliest European-American artists t ...

Artistic career

Phillips returned to New York in 1896, where together with Ernest Blumenschein he leased a studio. In the Spring of 1898, Phillips accompanied Blumenschein on a journey to the American West. Their first stop was

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, where they bought art and camping supplies, a wagon, horses, and a revolver. Thus equipped, they set out with the intention of reaching

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In northern

, one of their

wagon wheels Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, other Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and India, and Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a marshmallow filling with jam, and ...

broke due to the roughness of the terrain. Blumenschein rode out on horseback to nearby

to have the wheel repaired, while Phillips waited with the wagon. After Blumenschein returned with the repaired wheel three days later, they continued on to Taos, where they sold their horse and equipage, set up a studio, and began to paint. Phillips decided to stay in Taos when Blumenschein returned to New York a few months later. He and a friend caused a skirmish during a religious ceremony on Taos Plaza when they refused to remove their hats; during the skirmish the sheriff was killed. The incident increased tensions between the town's Hispanic and Anglo residents. Phillips wrote in a letter to Blumenschein, "I began to feel as if this was the real 'border life', and only wish old

was here with us." Phillips married Rose Martin, the sister of the famous local doctor Thomas "Doc" Martin, in 1899. He conceived the idea of starting an

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

in Taos, which he discussed in correspondence with Blumenschein. In 1915, his dream became reality with the formation of the

, of which Phillips was a founding member together with his friends Ernest Blumenschein,

, and three other artists. The Society was founded in the dining room of Phillips' in-laws, Doc and Helen Martin, who was herself a batik artist. In addition to being instrumental in the formation of the Society, Phillips also spent more years in Taos than any other member.

Conservationism

Phillips was instrumental in the 1906 establishment of the Taos National Forest. He later became its first forest ranger when he needed to rest his eyesight.

Notes

References

External links

Taos Painters: Bert Geer Phillips (1868-1956)AskArt: Bert Geer Phillips (1868 - 1956)
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' (Kit Carson's Apache Scout) *

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Our Washerwoman's Family - New Mexico
''(c 1918) {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Bert Geer 1868 births 1956 deaths Académie Julian alumni 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from Taos, New Mexico Artists of the American West People from Hudson, New York Taos Society of Artists 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists