Before arriving
in Taos, Mabel Dodge had become a prominent figure in the
arts and society of New York City and Europe. Born
to a wealthy family in Buffalo, New York, she entertained
and supported many of the well-known artists, activists,
writers and thinkers of her time. Her Salons were informal
gatherings where people joined to dine and to discuss the
new ideas of the century, often forming relationships and
fomenting ideas which would have far-reaching influences.
Guests of Mabel’s included Emma Goldman, Alfred Stieglitz,
Margaret Sanger, John Reed and others of the political and
artistic avant-garde.
When Mabel left
New York to settle in Taos, marrying a full-blooded Taos
Pueblo man by the name of Tony Luhan, it seemed as though
the whole world was watching. During the 1930s New Yorker
Magazine cartoons quipped about Mabel in Taos, while set
designs for Shakespeare productions on Broadway were based
on adobe architecture. Georgia O’Keeffe, Willa Cather,
Ansel Adams and others found inspiration that would shape
their lives’ work while visiting Tony and Mabel’s
home. Carl Jung’s visits to the Taos Pueblo would
influence mainstream conceptions of the “native mind,”
while political wheels, set in motion by certain of Mabel’s
friends like John Collier, would affect legislation to benefit
Native American communities for generations to come. All
of these events and many more can be traced at some point
to Mabel and Tony’s commitment to one another and
to the life they built in Taos.
Author Lois
Rudnick in Utopian Vistas recognizes that “many who
came to the Luhan House were at a critical point in their
lives, physically, psychologically, or vocationally. For
them, the house functioned as a kind of life crisis center
break-ing down and healing, making - and sometimes unmaking
– love affairs and marriages. Because several visitors
often stayed with the Luhans simultaneously, the opportunities
for mentoring, cross fertilization, and feuding were enormously
rich....” Throughout its history the Mabel Dodge Luhan
House has served as a retreat, a center for personal growth,
and a location that challenges those who dare to become
part of its history. Those who have enjoyed its ambiance
and those who are waiting to be introduced to the unique
experience of the Mabel Dodge Luhan House can look forward
to many more years in celebration of creativity, workshops
in the arts, humanities and support of local cultural activities.
