History
The Couse House and Studio with the adjoining Sharp Studios occupy 146 Kit Carson Road in Taos, a short distance east of the plaza and across the street from the Kit Carson House. The compound grew by accretion across the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, beginning with an older adobe residence that Eanger Irving Couse purchased in 1909 and continuing through successive additions made by Couse and by his neighbor Joseph Henry Sharp.
The buildings are characteristic Taos adobes adapted for use as painters' studios. Their load-bearing walls are sun-dried mud brick finished in mud plaster, with deep-set window openings, peeled-viga ceilings, and flat roofs drained by canales. Couse and Sharp enlarged the north-facing studio rooms with broad windows to admit the steady, cool light prized for figure painting, but otherwise retained the Pueblo Revival vocabulary of stepped volumes, low parapets, and hand-finished surfaces that defined the surrounding district.
Couse (1866-1936) and Sharp (1859-1953) were founding members of the Taos Society of Artists, the painters' collective organized in 1915 that drew national attention to the Taos and Pueblo subject matter. Couse served as the society's first president, and his studio became the principal site for his long series of paintings of Pueblo life. Sharp worked in his neighboring studios across more than four decades and produced a portrait record of Native sitters from across the northern Plains and the Southwest.
The compound was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 under reference 05001096. It is owned today by the nonprofit Couse-Sharp Historic Site, which preserves the residences, studios, gardens, and archives and operates the property as a study center and seasonal museum open to the public. The site anchors the eastern end of the Taos art colony adobe district that runs from Ledoux Street through Kit Carson Road to the Mabel Dodge Luhan compound.
Common questions
What is the Couse, Eanger Irving, House and Studio--Sharp, Joseph Henry, Studios?
The Couse, Eanger Irving, House and Studio--Sharp, Joseph Henry, Studios is a historic Pueblo Revival adobe property in Taos, New Mexico, associated with American painters Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 05001096.
When was the Couse-Sharp Studios property built?
No precise construction year for the Couse-Sharp property is preserved in the registry data. The property is associated with the residence and working studios of painters Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp in Taos.
Where is the Couse-Sharp Studios property located?
The Couse, Eanger Irving, House and Studio--Sharp, Joseph Henry, Studios is located at 146 Kit Carson Road in Taos, New Mexico.
Is the Couse-Sharp Studios property open to the public?
The property is listed as a private residence and is not generally open for public tours. Visitors interested in the site should consult local Taos heritage organizations for any scheduled access opportunities related to the Couse and Sharp legacy.
What architectural style is the Couse-Sharp Studios property?
The Couse, Eanger Irving, House and Studio--Sharp, Joseph Henry, Studios is built in the Pueblo Revival style, a regional architectural tradition that draws on the forms of Native American pueblos and Spanish Colonial adobe construction common across northern New Mexico.
Why is the Couse-Sharp Studios property historically significant?
The property is significant for its association with painters Eanger Irving Couse and Joseph Henry Sharp, prominent figures in the Taos art community. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 05001096.
