Bert Geer Phillips

Phillips left home at age sixteen, moving to New York City where he attended the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design. In 1894 he traveled to Europe, briefly staying in London before moving to Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian. In the Spring of 1898, Phillips accompanied Blumenschein on a journey to the American West. Their first stop was Denver, Colorado, where they bought art and camping supplies, a wagon, horses, and a revolver. After a wagon wheel broke, they continued on to Taos, where they sold their horse and equipage, set up a studio, and began to paint. Phillips was a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. He was the first artist to permanently settle in Taos, New Mexico (1898). He is known for his paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest.