Art in an arid climate: The Museum of New Mexico and the cultivation of the arts in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, New Mexico, enjoys an international reputation as an artistic, cultured city, despite its relative remoteness and small population. Geographically, economically, and socially, however, early twentieth-century Santa Fe was as unlikely a spot as anywhere in the United States for an artistic community to emerge.Santa Fe exemplified the booster mentality of the period, which Sinclair Lewis so succinctly satirized in his 1922 novel, Babbitt. Like almost every other town in America, Santa Fe's leading citizens had nearly-delusional visions of civic grandeur. They eagerly formed clubs and created new cultural institutions as evidence of civilization and a panacea for social ills. What is compelling about Santa Fe's cultural development is that the community achieved such atypical success using such typical techniques. While many cities attempted this formula, few managed to leverage culture as successfully as Santa Fe.How was national and international fame achieved by this small art colony? The single most influential institution in producing this reputation was the Museum of New Mexico (MNM). This is a study of this museum and its role in the cultivation of Santa Fe's artistic and civic culture. From the moment of its opening in 1909, the MNM was at the center of every major cultural development in Santa Fe, evolving and adapting along the way.This is an art historical dissertation that goes beyond the traditional focus on particular artists or artworks. Primary evidence comes from period correspondence, administrative archives, and a full-text database of the Museum's official publication, El Palacio. I use the concepts of social and cultural capital to track the accumulation and deployment of the resources necessary to create institutions and actively forge an international reputation. My methodology borrows from sociology, economics, public policy studies, and "New Western" history.I use an interdisciplinary approach that understands museums as critical institutional frames that serve multiple roles for both artists and the larger community. Though a historical study, the Museum of New Mexico's past is relevant to contemporary questions facing museums and communities nationwide regarding the power of museums to define artistic discourse, the social responsibilities of traditionally elitist institutions towards minority populations, and the role of culture in fostering economic development.