ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on five privileged classmates from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania who arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they quickly became a part of a community of artists, writers, and other intellectuals. Fleeing industrialized America, these women, like many of the newly arrived Anglos, sought a more “authentic” way of life that Santa Fe seemed to offer. They began collecting Indian art, not only for its beauty, but also to foster the survival of both an endangered tradition and the people. Not only did they build their own private collections they also created an art market for these artifacts and helped established institutional collections, such as the Pueblo Pottery Fund and the Indian Arts Fund. Later these collections would be housed Santa Fe’s School for Advanced Research. In this chapter, the Bryn Mawrters’ views about Indian art are discussed and their impact on both artists and collectors are examined.
