Pre-WW Two Taos depicted in words and drawings.

More siftings from my warehouse. A travelogue by Esther C. Mullowney with illustrations by Mary Ellen Mahan. The typescript indicates that they submitted or intended to submit the material to Coronet Magazine in the summer of 1940. The two young women departed Philadelphia on July 18th 1939 (or 38). They took along a hand-made mini-mobile home as housing to save money along the way. They arrived in Taos on July 31st and departed for their return trip on August 30th. They had ambitions as artists and writers that sadly don't seem to have been fulfilled in any big way. Mullowney had one poem published in Poetry Magazine in 1940. There is no record of Mahan as an artist. The journal has the charm of youth and the drawings have some commercial flair.

 An illustration of their car "Nip." Them trailer they named "Tuck."

Outdoor bathing with some salacious looks from the livestock

Interior view of Tuck.

A view of the automotive trek up around Pike's Peak.

 These three boys and their struggle with this Burro are mentioned in the travelogue.

The artist at work in Pueblo, Colorado.

Mud plastering the Adobes.

Taos Plaza back in the day.

 

An effort to show the wind and dust of the place.

These young women took care of themselves: here shown dealing with their laundry.

While in Taos Mullowney and Mahan met Dorothy Brett and spent time with her over a few days. Brett was a painter and a member of the Bloomsbury circle. She followed D.H. Lawrence to Taos and remained on after his departure. She was a reclusive celebrity in Taos so her invitations to the young women into her home was a (un-suspected) coup for them.
They were also invited into the home of the prominent Western artist Bert Geer Phillips. Phillips was a leading Western artist. His art was conservative and representational in style. It was radical only in its insistence on the value of the West as a subject.
However, their closest local associate was a Navajo named Red Dancer who took the young women into his home in the Pueblo. He showed them Navajo dancing and, from Mullowney's account, seemed interested only in sharing his own joy in life.He does appear to have been patient with their naivete.
These words and images aren't great writing or great art. However, they do deserve a home with someone who cares about Taos. We'll see what happens.