“El Camino del Cañon”
Canyon Road is parallel to the Santa Fe River and began as an ancient animal and Indian trail into the Sangre de Cristo range, connecting OgaPoghe with Pecos Pueblo. For over 1,000 years artisans have lived and worked in this area of Santa Fe, starting with native Indians who created pottery, jewelry, weavings, and other adornments in addition to practical utensils.
Spanish and Mexican Indian settlers had come to the area in the early 1600’s, settling in the Barrio Analco neighborhood along current East De Vargas Street and along the Canyon Road trails. The area is just above the Santa Fe River (Rio de Santa Fe) and was used for gathering firewood, grazing sheep, gathering herbs, and hunting in the canyon. An irrigation canal or “mother ditch”, the Acequia Madre, was created to divert water from the Rio de Santa Fe to sustain crops, livestock, and people in the area.
Following the Pueblo Revolt, Santa Fe was resettled in the early 1700’s by the Spanish as the provincial capital of the New Mexico territory. The Canyon Road area remained much as it had been the previous century, a quiet farming community of Spanish families. They grazed sheep and raised corn, wheat, vegetables, and herbs. The Spanish were also skilled at weaving, tinwork, adobe construction, woodworking, and the making and painting of santos and bultos. Firewood was gathered in the upper canyon and sold or traded along Burro Alley off San Francisco Street. The oldest homes, modest 2-3 room dwellings served as the center of the family farm along the upper south bank of the river.
Major Changes and the Modern Era
Significant change began in the early 1800’s with the end of the Spanish rule and opening of outside trade. The Santa Fe Trail from Kansas City, the Camino Real from Mexico, and the Old Spanish Trail converged at the Santa Fe Plaza to further establish Santa Fe as the primary destination and gateway to the Southwest. New Mexico became a US Territory in 1847 and Santa Fe continued to serve at the capital city. Following the Civil War, American influence grew with creation of a cash economy, a legal system, and public education. Further change resulted from growth of the railroad in the 1880’s and arrival of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway which opened the “wild west” for tourist travel inspired by the Fred Harvey Company.
“This is a good place to write, to create, and to paint”
The early 1900’s saw a worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis. Santa Fe, with its dry, clean air was a life-saving tonic for those with respiratory ailments. Inspired by the area’s natural scenic beauty, Native pueblos, and Spanish villages, artists found abundant subject matter for painting, writing, and sculpture. Illustrators also came through New Mexico and into Santa Fe to create images of the “wild west” for East Coast magazines and the railway companies who promoted southwest travel. A significant art colony became established as many influential artists came to visit and relocate to both Santa Fe and Taos.
Canyon Road Today
Canyon Road’s gradual shift from a residential and farm community to a commercial district began in the 1940’s. New businesses to the area included restaurants, bars, grocery stores, a barber shop, dry cleaner, pet store, photo studio and an Arthur Murray Dance Studio. A few artists sold their works in studios in their homes, but none was an art gallery.
In 1962, the City of Santa Fe recognized Canyon Road’s unique combination of studios, homes, and shops by designating it as a “residential arts and crafts zone’. As a result, new galleries, curio shops and antique stores began to open. By the 1980’s, fine art galleries clearly dominated commerce on Canyon Road.
The architecture is a unique blend of ancient Pueblo-inspired dwellings, Spanish adobe homes with covered porches/portals, and brick and woodwork of the Territorial style. Many structures along and near Canyon Road are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Canyon Road is now recognized as the 2nd largest art market in the country and one of the finest in the world. It is home to more than 100 galleries, boutiques and restaurants. The diversity of work organized into 13 genres of work by the Santa Fe Gallery Association including:
The expression of these art genres is found in pottery, weavings, paintings, sculpture, baskets, paintings, and jewelry among others.
Canyon Road is an ancient neighborhood of historic adobe houses, manicured courtyard gardens, and hidden alleys. It is home to Santa Fe’s annual Christmas Eve “Farolito Walk” and is a unique art experience like no other.
Key Early Artists
Gerald Cassidy moved to 553 Canyon Road in 1915 where he painted Southwestern landscapes and Native American portraits.
Sheldon Parsons, a successful New York portrait painter, arrived in 1913 after suffering a relapse of TB and built an adobe home and studio on Upper Canyon Road.
William Penhallow Henderson, a successful painter and teacher, and his wife, Alice Corbin Henderson, a renowned poet, moved to Santa Fe in 1916. They built a home on Camino del Monte Sol where they entertained such notables as Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg, among others.
Robert Henri, a world-renowned painter and teacher, and member of the Ashcan school of American realism visited Santa Fe in 1916, 1917 and 1922.
The development of the “Santa Fe Style” of architecture and furniture further contributed to Santa Fe becoming known as an artist destination. The opening of the New Mexico Museum of Art in 1917 and the renovation of the Palace of the Governors provided for painting exhibitions.
John Sloan and Randall Davey, acclaimed New York artists, arrived with their wives in 1919. Sloan ultimately spent 30 summers in Santa Fe, living and painting on Garcia Street. Davey purchased a large tract of land at the end of Upper Canyon Road – now the Randall Davey Audubon Center.
“Los Cincos Pintores” the first formal Santa Fe art society was formed in 1920 by Fremont Ellis, Josef Bakos, Walter Mruk, Willard Nash and Will Shuster. They built small adobe homes in the Canyon Road area and were referred to as the “5 little nuts in the 5 mud huts”.
Carlos Vierra, believed to be the first Anglo artist to settle permanently here, arrived in 1904 to be treated at the Sunmount Sanitarium. Vierra is credited with founding the Santa Fe Art Colony. At the time, few artists could afford to live in remote Santa Fe, needing to keep their economic ties to their metropolitan art markets.
Other influential artists who visited regularly or moved the Canyon Road area include Olive Rush, Andrew Dasburg, Frank Applegate, Gustav Baumann, Alfred Schmidt, Raymond Jonson, Datus Myers and Oden Hullenkremer.
About the author:
Tom Gallegos helps visitors experience Santa Fe, native Pueblos, Spanish villages, the beautiful outdoors and unique cuisine. He especially enjoys sharing the beauty and history of Santa Fe on his walking tour. Tom is a native of Taos and currently lives in Santa Fe. True New Mexico