The sheer number of galleries that line Santa Fe’s Canyon Road can be overwhelming. On this latest visit, I took a day to find those most worth browsing. The following personal favorites are listed in the order of a walking tour, and most open at 10 a.m.
Near the west end of Canyon Road, this gallery has an excellent collection of realistic Southwestern-themed paintings and late 19th- and early 20th-century Native American pottery and basketry.
John B. Strong Fine Art 200 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 982-2795.
Among the works exhibited in a historic brick schoolhouse are the paintings of John Nieto, which depict Native American subjects in a colorful German expressionist-like style.
Ventana Fine Art 400 Canyon Road. Tel. (800) 746-8815.
This gallery would be worth a visit for its setting alone — a 200-year-old house. Jean-Claude Gaugy’s art combines subtly carved wood panels and painting.
Gaugy Gallery 418 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 984-2800.
If the nearby Museum of International Folk Art were a gallery, it would be the appealingly eclectic Economos.
Economos Works of Art 500 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 982-6347.
Fine examples of Native American textiles hang on the walls here. I also loved the show of intricately colorful Wounaan basketry from Panama.
Michael Smith Gallery 526 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 995-1013.
The unsentimental works of artist Patrick Dean Hubbell comprise the bulk of the collection here. The “Untitled Appropriation” series, in which Hubbell mounted imitation Native American-print fleece blankets and slashed them with paint, was particularly memorable.
Darnell Fine Art 640 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 984-0840.
The strength of this gallery is its works by top-tier European artists such as Fernand Leger, Paul Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec. I coveted “Beggar Woman and Child,” a moving charcoal drawing by Käthe Kollwitz.
Matthews Gallery 669 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 992-2882.
In addition to luminous still-life paintings, S R Brennen excels at romanticist Western landscapes.
S R Brennen 555 Canyon Road. Tel (505) 428-0274.
The display of antique Native American pottery is attractive, but what really set this gallery apart was its show of beautifully beaded (and breathtakingly expensive) Plains Indian pipe bags.
Morning Star Gallery 513 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 982-8187.
Here, you will find “Historic, Classic and Innovative Native American Pottery.” Diego Romero’s clever ceramics combine traditional geometric motifs with stylized images of slot machines and fast food.
Robert Nichols Gallery 419 Canyon Road. Tel. (505) 982-2145.
Andrew Harper members have access to full travel-planning services through Andrew Harper Travel.
1 (800) 375-4685
Open M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM CT
