))
This Week in the West: Bert Geer Phillips, A Broken Wagon Wheel & Taos
Manage episode 489081770 series 3610777
Content provided by The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The National Cowboy, and Western Heritage Museum. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The National Cowboy, and Western Heritage Museum or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
🤠This Week in the West
🎙️ Episode 33: Bert Geer Phillips, A Broken Wagon Wheel & Taos
📢 Episode Summary:
In this episode of This Week in The West, we share the remarkable story of Bert Geer Phillips, whose broken wagon wheel in 1898 led not to a setback, but to the founding of a new American art movement. Alongside fellow artist Ernest Blumenschein, Phillips intended to journey to Mexico for inspiration but ended up staying in Taos, New Mexico—a decision that transformed the course of Western art. Phillips immersed himself in the local culture, married into a respected family, and painted the people and landscape with romantic realism that honored both tradition and beauty.
Listeners will learn how Phillips helped found the influential Taos Society of Artists in 1915, advocating for both art and the environment throughout his life. His legacy lives on in Taos, which remains a thriving art community, and at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, which currently houses some of his work. The episode also highlights the ongoing celebration of Western creativity with the 53rd Annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale.
🔍 What You’ll Learn:
- How a broken wagon wheel in 1898 led to the birth of the Taos art colony
- Why Bert Geer Phillips became a central figure in the Taos Society of Artists and Western realism
- How the legacy of Phillips and the early Taos artists continues today in modern Western art communities and exhibitions
👥 Behind the Scenes
Host: Seth Spillman
Producer: Chase Spivey
Writer: Mike Koehler
🔗 Further research:
- A biography of Phillips from the Medicine Man Gallery: https://www.medicinemangallery.com/blogs/biographies/bert-geer-phillips-1868-1956-biography
- More history of the Taos Artist Colony: https://www.theartistsroad.net/articles/taossocietyofartists
- Information on visiting Taos, N.M.: https://taos.org/discover/taos-society-of-artists/
📬 Connect With Us:
🌐 Website: www.nationalcowboymuseum.org
📖 Read Our Blog: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/blog/
📩 Email: [email protected]
📲Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ncwhm/
📷Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalcowboymuseum
❎X/Twitter: https://x.com/ncwhm
💼LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-cowboy-&-western-heritage-museum
🗺️ Visit Us: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73111. See us on the map
💡 Support Us:🏅Become A Member of the Museum: https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/support/memberships/
🛒Shop at Persimmon Hill, our Museum store: https://persimmonhillstore.com/
🎧 Listen & Subscribe:
🔹 Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-the-west/id1776228708
🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KYmd2BumVtQVH1ez1Cr2U
🔹YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoE2kU21JpX9T6W9NonXuD9UapS1TsmN
🔹Podbean: https://thisweekinthewest.podbean.com/
⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate & review!
37 episodes
Share
