Taos in the early 20th c.

William Herbert Dunton, The Horse Wrestler c. 1915

By the 1930s, Taos had an established community of artists, although some of the most famous artists we associate with Taos (i.e. Georgia O'Keefe) didn't settle there until the 30s. Artists began settling there shortly after the turn of the 20th century.  By 1915, an artists' collective had formed and in 1917 Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy heiress settled in Taos, set up a European style salon, patronized artists, and began personally inviting artists such as O'Keefe and Ansel Adams. 

The works of these modern artists concentrated on the landscape of the Southwest and on Native American themes.