The nine paintings of nudes hang behind a curtain in a conference room off the lobby of the Hotel La Fonda de Taos. The story of how the art that was banned in Britain came to New Mexico is much more interesting than the images by a famous author.
The English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, and sometimes painter D. H. Lawrence was known for his frank discussion of sexuality, desire, and instinct in his writings. His novels such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover were shocking to the prudish morals of the early 20th century. By modern standards, his writing would hardly be considered scandalous.
In the 1920s after achieving critical acclaim for his writings, Lawrence turned to painting as an artistic outlet. His depictions of naked bodies would not reach the level of pornography today, nor would the paintings be considered masterpieces.
An Artist in the Mountains
Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, were enticed to Taos, N.M., by Mabel Dodge Luhan. The wealthy New England socialite had fallen in love with the beauty of the area and had lured many prominent artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, and Mary Austin to her remote retreat.
D.H. and Frieda first visited Taos in 1922 on his 37th birthday. Friction developed between Lawrence and Luhan, and in an effort to convince him to stay she gave the couple a 160-acre ranch about 18 miles north of Taos. Frieda later provided Luhan the handwritten manuscript for Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers in exchange for the property.
The Lawrences envisioned starting a utopian community filled with artists at the ranch. The only convert to join them was the British painter Lady Dorothy Brett who arrived in 1924 and stayed in New Mexico until her death in 1977.
The former sheep ranch was the only real estate Lawrence ever owned, and he and Frieda only spent about 11 months there during the three years that they used the property as a base. It was the only time the author lived for any extended time in the U.S.
Writer as a Painter
Having no formal art training, the novelist began experimenting with oil paints when Maria Huxley, the wife of Aldous Huxley, gave him four blank canvases. Lawrence produced around 30 paintings in his lifetime.
In 1929, Lawrence exhibited his paintings in a London gallery. Scotland Yard confiscated 13 of the 25 paintings as being lewd, primarily because they showed frontal nudity. The paintings were recovered only after Lawrence promised to take them out of England and never show them in the country again.
Lawrence died on March 2, 1930, at age 44 from complications of tuberculosis and was buried in Vence, France.
The Writer Returns to the Mountains
Soon after his death, Frieda and her Italian lover, Angelo Ravagli, returned to the Taos ranch to live. In 1935, she dispatched Ravagli to France to exhume Lawrence’s body, have it cremated, and brought back to New Mexico.
On a steep mountainside overlooking the Rio Grande Valley, Frieda mixed his ashes with the cement of the altar in the small memorial on the steep mountainside. She was later buried to the left of the door.
With no heirs, Frieda bequeathed the ranch to the University of New Mexico in 1956. With the exception of a few outbuildings, the property was left largely as Lawrence would have remembered it. Lawrence’s Tree, a giant ponderosa pine immortalized in a painting by Georgia O’Keeffe, still towers over the simple former homesteader’s cottage. Lady Brett’s tiny cabin remains behind it.
If You Go
The Lawrence Ranch and Memorial are open to the public primarily from May to October. The current schedule is for the ranch to open Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, weather permitting. It is best to call the ranch at 575/776-2245 to be sure there is someone there to open the gate.
The owner of the Hotel La Fonda in Taos, Saki Karavas, purchased the nine D.H. Lawrence paintings in 1956 from Angelo Ravagli after Frieda passed away. For many years Karavas kept the art in his office and charged curious visitors $1 to see them.
This is the largest collection of Lawrence paintings in the world. Only two of the nine paintings were among those confiscated in London – Fight With an Amazon (1926) and Dance-Sketch (1928).
After Karavas died in 1996, the paintings were moved to the conference room where they are shown by special request for $3 per person. Inquire at the front desk for access to the room. The hotel management allows photography of the paintings for personal use, but asked that the photos not be published, even though they are available on the internet.
The second-largest collection of D.H. Lawrence paintings is housed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Gerald McLeod has been traveling around Texas and beyond for his “Day Trips” column for more than 25 years. Keep up to date with his journeys on his archive page.
This article appears in September 22 • 2017.
