Taos Pueblo Scene

Artist Ruth Peabody (1893 - 1966)

Date1930s

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions32 1/2 x 40 in. (82.6 x 101.6 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineGift of The Hilbert Collection

Object number2020.132

DescriptionRuth Peabody was born in Highland Park, Illinois, and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She moved to Laguna Beach around 1924 with her mother, artist Elanor Colburn, and they both became active in the Laguna Beach Art Association and as members of the famous Laguna Beach art colony. The two artists shared a home studio, and although their early work is similar in style, they each created a very distinct body of work, with Ruth working in both painting and sculpture.

Ruth was a respected art instructor at Laguna Beach High School and also taught art privately. During her career, she created sculpture and painted portraits, landscapes, and still lifes, in a post-impressionist style, working in both oils and in watercolor. In 1939, the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego presented Ruth's abstractions in a solo exhibition, the first show of its kind by a regional artist. Later, she returned to a more representational style in her paintings.

This painting was probably inspired by a trip that Peabody and her mother took to New Mexico. During the 1930s, Taos, Santa Fe and the Southwest in became popular destinations for artists who sought fresh subject matter and discovered sweeping new vistas.

Mary Platt, Director

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