Famous American Works Of Art

            Of particular interest here is the Taos Pueblo, an ancient Native American village with multistoried adobe dwellings believed to have been occupied for at least 800 years. In the early 1990s it was inhabited by some 2100 Tiwa-speaking Pueblo, noted for their ceremonial dances. Also of note in Taos are the Millicent A. Rogers Museum, featuring displays of Native American and Hispanic art and artifacts; the Kit Carson Home and Museum, containing possessions of the American frontiersman; the Harwood Foundation Museum, with exhibits of paintings by Taos artists; and the Governor Bent Museum, with collections relating to Charles Bent, the first governor of New Mexico Territory, and to the Southwest in general. Located in the area are San Francisco de Asis Mission Church (18th century), the D. H. Lawrence Ranch and Shrine, and ski resorts.
             Taos was first visited by the Spanish in 1540, and by 1615 a substantial Spanish colony was situated here. The Spanish were driven out in the Pueblo revolt of 1680 but returned around 1696. By the early 19th century, Taos was a gathering place for trappers, miners, and traders. The community passed to the United States in 1846, and the following year Governor Bent was killed in a revolt by Native Americans. Population 3,369 (1980); 4,065 (1990); 5,389 (1998 estimate).
             Along with the very similar Bradford chair, this chair is one of the earliest chairs made in America. We know the Brewster chair was made here rather than in England because the species of ash is native to America.
             The Brewster Chair and the Bradford Chair are related to other turned chairs with board seats found in Boston and Charlestown. As chairs are seldom signed, researchers have to make an educated guess as to who made them. Researchers examine documents, including probate inventories, to see who was a woodworker. Then they match the woodworkers and where they lived to the chairs and where they were found.