Housed in an imposing historic Taos adobe dwelling, which was further expanded by famed architect Nathaniel Owens, the Millicent Rogers Museum ranks highly among those institutions specializing in Southwest art, especially its collection of contemporary and period jewelry. Heiress to the Standard Oil fortune, Rogers suffered from severe rheumatic fever at age eight; despite its life-threatening effects, she had a remarkable but short life, passing at fifty-one. Known for her beauty, sense of style and taste, she was always in society and the public’s eye, often shown in couturier clothing and jewelry, both of which she designed before her life in the Southwest. (Most of her clothing was donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.) Already a serious jewelry designer in the 1940s, she worked with Joseph Fried and sometimes George Headly for their fabrication.

After discovering Taos, New Mexico and moving there in 1947, until her death in 1952, Millicent Rogers amassed an astounding collection of some six thousand pieces of jewelry, which include some prehistoric Southwest work. As with everything in which she engaged, Rogers plunged into this world deeply, with her considerable intellect and real appreciation for Native American culture. Traveling with friend and collecting companion John Joseph, she attended numerous fairs and pueblos in the Southwest, buying directly or through Joseph. The double-strand of turquoise tabs by Zuni artist Leekya Deyuse is one such example; when seen on display, under striking but low lighting, it is a glowing ornament of ethereal beauty. While it is not clear how much of her jewelry collection was bought during her some seven years in Taos, she was also interested in African, Central and South American jewelry. After her death, pieces of jewelry continued to be purchased for the museum set up in her name; thus, many of the contemporary works date from the 1970s and 1980s. Often these were collected by one of her three sons, Paul Peralta-Ramos.

When her Taos house was renovated, a workshop with facilities for casting was placed off her bedroom. Influenced and inspired by Navajo and Pueblo jewelry, Rogers set about learning their metalworking techniques. As her health failed, she spent more time in this bedroom, designing and creating jewelry. In the museum, there are four cases of her jewelry, based on her designs (often sketched on yellow legal pads), but made by others. The juxtaposition of her sketches and jewelry, as well as photographs of her, makes for an endearing intimacy. A number of her designs have continued to be made for the Museum and are available to the public.

Anyone interested in jewelry, especially that of the Southwest, will have a jaw-dropping experience when viewing Galleries Five and Six, containing at least seventeen cases of this area’s jewelry. Adding much to the displays are a profusion of tools and workshop exhibits, often showing process. Besides the sheer beauty of tools, such as punches, I loved the hammer made from an iron railroad spike. There is also much fine Native American art here, a sign of her unerring eye. A stunning companion book, entitled Fine Indian Jewelry of the Southwest: The Millicent Rogers Museum Collection, by former director Dr. Shelby Tisdale, is available through the Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe. Photograph of Millicent Rogers by Horst Vogue Studios; Other photographs courtesy of the Museum of New Mexico Press and Robert K. Liu.