• The Couse Home, Studio, and Garden from the south

    The Couse Home, Studio, and Garden from the south

  • E.I. Couse in his studio at work on San Juan Pottery, 1911. Couse first came to Taos in 1902, at the suggestion of Ernest Blumenschein.

    E.I. Couse in his studio at work on San Juan Pottery, 1911. Couse first came to Taos in 1902, at the suggestion of Ernest Blumenschein.

  • The Couse studio, virtually intact, as he left it in 1936.

    The Couse studio, virtually intact, as he left it in 1936.

  • J.H. Sharp and his wife Louise with E. I. Couse’s grandchildren, Virginia and Irving.

    J.H. Sharp and his wife Louise with E. I. Couse’s grandchildren, Virginia and Irving.

  • J.H. Sharp in his studio, 1946. Sharp was the first to come to Taos, in 1893, and eventually built this studio.

    J.H. Sharp in his studio, 1946. Sharp was the first to come to Taos, in 1893, and eventually built this studio.

  • Sharp’s 1915 Studio was restored in 2017 and hosts a permanent rotation exhibition of his work, collections, and ephemera

    Sharp’s 1915 Studio was restored in 2017 and hosts a permanent rotation exhibition of his work, collections, and ephemera

  • Kibbey Whitman Couse, the only child of E.I. Couse and his wife Virginia, was a noted inventor.

    Kibbey Whitman Couse, the only child of E.I. Couse and his wife Virginia, was a noted inventor.

  • Kibbey Couse’s machine shop on the Couse–Sharp Historic Site.

    Kibbey Couse’s machine shop on the Couse–Sharp Historic Site.

  • E.I. Couse with his grandchildren, Virginia and Irving. Virginia Couse Leavitt became a guiding force of the Couse Foundation.

    E.I. Couse with his grandchildren, Virginia and Irving. Virginia Couse Leavitt became a guiding force of the Couse Foundation.

  • Virginia Couse Leavitt, E.I.’s granddaughter, and her late husband, Ernest Leavitt. Visionary custodians of a unique legacy.

    Virginia Couse Leavitt, E.I.’s granddaughter, and her late husband, Ernest Leavitt. Visionary custodians of a unique legacy.

See where the Taos Society of Artists began: Couse-Sharp Historic Site

Our 2+ acre campus in the heart of Taos’ central historic district features the former homes and studios of E. I. Couse and J. H. Sharp, two of the American-born, European-trained artists who formed the TSA in 1915.

Visitors are astonished that such a well-preserved—and charming—complex of period buildings, gardens, furnishings, and associated art collections still exists. Engineering enthusiasts can see a 1936 laboratory and machine shop plus a Kibbey Couse-invented mobile machine shop used in World War II. Our latest addition is The Lunder Research Center, a beautiful state-of-the-art research and museum facility dedicated to the early Taos art colony and the TSA.

We invite you to peruse our website to get a feel for the amazing range of history, culture, architecture, science, and art at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site.

News and Information

  • The exhibition gallery in The Lunder Research Center, as well as the historic site, will be CLOSED on Friday, September 30, in celebration of San Geronimo Feast Day of Taos Pueblo. The gallery will be open as usual 1 - 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, and we will host our last open house of the season the same day from 3 - 5 p.m.
  • Jivan Lee's The Infinite Landscape exhibition is on view at The Lunder Research Center through January 13
  • Some of our previous exhibitions can be viewed online: LaLuzdeTaos.org, GlimpsesofthePast.org, StitchedinSovereignty.org
  • We are currently taking appointments for our 2-hour historic site tours. Find out all the details of booking on our Tours page
  • See our latest lectures on our YouTube channel: The Artistic Import of Taos: 1900–1950 by Executive Director & Curator Davison Koenig, and PARDS: The Taos Society of Artists by Michael Grauer, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
  • The E. I. Couse Original Contact Print Collection has been digitized thanks to a National Endowment for the Humanities grant and is now accessible online through New Mexico Digital Collections
  • Our archive and library facilities are not yet available; we will open to researchers in October 2022. See contact information here to make an appointment
  • We are fully complying with public health guidelines. Currently, we suggest masks indoors and are limiting the number of people at indoor events. We continue to monitor regulations and official guidance and will amend our protocols as warranted. Thank you for your cooperation in New Mexico's public health efforts.

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We thank our generous 2022 La Luz de Taos gala Title Sponsor!

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