An indigenous Taos woman in a purple-blue dress with red sash, tall loose off-white boots, and a long black shawl covering her head and shoulders stands in an adobe house interior with a black ceramic jug to her right and a blue door behind her to her left. Kenneth Miller Adams painted his portraits of Pueblo Indians from life. Born in 1897 in Topeka, Kansas, his childhood artistic efforts were confined to copying paintings from books. The aspiring painter eventually found his way to programs at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York before eventually travelling to Europe from 1921-23. In 1924, Adams traveled for the first time to Taos, New Mexico, in search of honest subject matter. He soon fell in love with the unique landscape and light, as well as the quality of life in the region. The young painter was quickly brought into the famed Taos Society of Artists art colony and, by 1927, was formally accepted into their ranks, becoming both the youngest and last member of this esteemed movement. Adams reveled in the area, its clear atmosphere, distinct architecture and unique inhabitants. Adams became an Associate of the National Academy of Design by the time he was twenty eight and worked for the Federal Art Project in the 1930s. Over the course of his career he completed murals in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico and held teaching positions at several schools.

Taos Woman by Kenneth M. Adams (American) - Oil on canvas / c. 1924 - Tacoma Art Museum (Washington) #womeninart #taos #art #oilpainting #womensart #tacomaartmuseum #KennethmAdams #fineart #portrait #paintingofawoman #indigenous #americanart #nativeamerican #taospueblo #tam #americanartist #bskyart