Luhan, Mabel Dodge, 1879-1962

Mabel Ganson was born on February 20, 1879 in Buffalo, New York. She was sent to the finest boarding schools in Buffalo and Manhattan. While living in Florence, Italy and later in Greenwich Village with her second husband, Edwin Dodge, she became known for her reputation for socializing and people gathering. After Mabel and Edwin Dodge divorced, she married artist Maurice Sterne in 1916. They moved to Santa Fe, and then Taos. Antonio Luhan became her fourth husband in 1923. It was in Taos that Mabel wrote her books. Mabel Dodge Luhan lived in Taos until her death on August 13, 1962.

Author.

Mabel Dodge Luhan (1879-1962), author.

Mabel Dodge Luhan with Frieda Lawrence and Dorothy Brett (left to right). Part of the Dorothy Brett Pictorial Collection PICT 000-494 (Box 12, Folder 42).

Mabel Ganson was born on February 20, 1879 in Buffalo, New York. The only child of a wealthy banking family, she was sent to the finest boarding schools in Buffalo and Manhattan, during which time she began filling journals with descriptions of people, places, and events.

Her first marraige was at age 20, to Karl Evans, who was killed in a hunting accident two years later. Their son, and Mabels only child, John Evans Ganson was born in 1901.

At age 25, she married Boston architect Edwin Dodge. They lived in an Italian Villa near Florence, where her reputation for socializing and people gathering blossomed with the likes of Leo and Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Edward Arlington Robinson. After 10 years, Mabel Dodge moved back to her 5th Ave. apartment in Greenwich Village. She began hosting "evenings or "salons which were frequented by well known journalists, poets, labor leaders, editors, and actors including John Reed, Lincoln Steffens, Max Eastman, Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, and others.

After Mabel and Edwin Dodge divorced, she married artist Maurice Sterne in 1916. They moved to Santa Fe, and then Taos. Mabels affairs in Taos included a mystical attraction to Indians; Antonio (Tony) Luhan, a Taos Pueblo Indian, would become her fourth husband in 1923. She developed friendships with D. H. and Frieda Lawrence, Dorothy Brett, Willa Cather, Georgia OKeeffe, John Marin, and John Collier. It was in Taos that Mabel wrote her books, including Lorenzo in Taos (1932); Intimate Memories, her 4 volume biography, (1933-1937); Winter in Taos (1935); and Taos and its Artists (1947). Mabel Dodge Luhan lived in Taos and remained married to Tony Luhan until her death on August 13, 1962.

Mabel Dodge Luhan was a major cultural figure in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. She is best known as a patron of the arts and writer, author of a multi-volume autobiographical work and books on D. H. Lawrence, Taos, and Taos area artists. There is considerable scholarship on Luhan, and there are book-length biographical studies by Emily Hahn (1977), Winifred Frazer (1984), and Lois Palken Rudnick (1984). Summary information is available in the standard print and online biographical resources.

The following chronology provides dates for key events and publications:

1879 February 26, born in Buffalo, New York to Charles F. Ganson and Sara McKay Cook

?-95 attends St. Margaret's Episcopal School for Girls in Buffalo

1895-96 attends Miss Graham's School in New York City

1896-97 attends Chevy Chase School in Washington D.C.

1900 marries Karl Kellog Evans

1902 birth of son John Ganson Evans; death of Charles F. Ganson

1903 death of Karl Kellog Evans

1904 travels to Paris; meets and marries Edwin Sherrill Dodge

1905 moves to Villa Curonia, Florence

1911 meets Gertrude and Leo Stein

1912 Gertrude Stein writes "The Portrait of Mabel Dodge at the Villa Curonia"; moves to New York City

1913-14 presides over salon; contributes to the International Exhibition of Modern Art and Paterson Strike Pageant

1915 contributes to the formation of the Elizabeth Duncan School in Croton-on-Hudson, New York

1916 undergoes therapy with Smith Ely Jelliffe, Emma Curtis Hopkins and Abraham Arden Brill; formally divorced from Edwin Sherrill Dodge

1917 writes for newspapers; marries Maurice Sterne; moves to Taos, New Mexico

1918 meets Antonio Lujan; acquires property ("Los Gallos") in Taos

1922 contributes to campaign against Bursum Bill; formally divorced from Maurice Sterne; hosts D. H. and Frieda Lawrence

1923 marries Antonio Lujan

1924 publication of "Ballad of a Bad Girl"

1925-26 corresponds with members of Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff's circle and invites Gurdjieff to relocate to New Mexico

1926 hosts Paul Strand and Rebecca Salsbury James

1929 hosts Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, and Ansel Adams; performance of Witter Bynner's Cake by Santa Fe Players

1932 publication of Lorenzo in Taos

1933 publication of Background, first volume of Intimate Memories

1935 publication of European Experiences, second volume of Intimate Memories

1935 publication of Winter in Taos

1936 publication of Movers and Shakers, third volume of Intimate Memories ; donates property ("La Posta") to Taos for new county hospital

1937 publication of Edge of Taos Desert, forth volume of Intimate Memories

1947 publication of Taos and its Artists

1951 donates personal papers to Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

1962 August 13, dies in Taos, New Mexico

Mabel Dodge Luhan was a major cultural figure in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. She is best known as a patron of the arts and writer, author of a multi-volume autobiographical work and books on D. H. Lawrence, Taos, and Taos area artists. There is considerable scholarship on Luhan, and there are book-length biographical studies by Emily Hahn (1977), Winifred Frazer (1984), and Lois Palken Rudnick (1984). Summary information is available in the standard print and online biographical resources.

The following chronology provides dates for key events and publications:

1879 February 26, born in Buffalo, New York to Charles F. Ganson and Sara McKay Cook

?-95 attends St. Margaret's Episcopal School for Girls in Buffalo

1895-96 attends Miss Graham's School in New York City

1896-97 attends Chevy Chase School in Washington, D.C.

1900 marries Karl Kellog Evans

1902 birth of son John Ganson Evans; death of Charles F. Ganson

1903 death of Karl Kellog Evans

1904 travels to Paris; meets and marries Edwin Sherrill Dodge

1905 moves to Villa Curonia, Florence

1911 meets Gertrude and Leo Stein

1912 Gertrude Stein writes "The Portrait of Mabel Dodge at the Villa Curonia"; moves to New York City

1913-14 presides over salon; contributes to the International Exhibition of Modern Art and Paterson Strike Pageant

1915 contributes to the formation of the Elizabeth Duncan School in Croton-on-Hudson, New York

1916 undergoes therapy with Smith Ely Jelliffe, Emma Curtis Hopkins, and Abraham Arden Brill; formally divorced from Edwin Sherrill Dodge

1917 writes for newspapers; marries Maurice Sterne; moves to Taos, New Mexico

1918 meets Antonio Lujan; acquires property ("Los Gallos") in Taos

1922 contributes to campaign against Bursum Bill; formally divorced from Maurice Sterne; hosts D. H. and Frieda Lawrence

1923 marries Antonio Lujan

1924 publication of "Ballad of a Bad Girl"

1925-26 corresponds with members of Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff's circle and invites Gurdjieff to relocate to New Mexico

1926 hosts Paul Strand and Rebecca Salsbury James

1929 hosts Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, and Ansel Adams; performance of Witter Bynner's Cake by Santa Fe Players

1932 publication of Lorenzo in Taos

1933 publication of Background, first volume of Intimate Memories

1935 publication of European Experiences, second volume of Intimate Memories

1935 publication of Winter in Taos

1936 publication of Movers and Shakers, third volume of Intimate Memories ; donates property ("La Posta") to Taos for new county hospital

1937 publication of Edge of Taos Desert, forth volume of Intimate Memories

1947 publication of Taos and its Artists

1951 donates papers to Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

1962 August 13, dies in Taos, New Mexico