Ernest L. Blumenschein was born 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Initially influenced by his father's profession as a muscician and composer, Blumenschein developed early on an artistic talent. While attending the Cincinatti Art Academy, he decided to pursue a career in art and trained at the Art Students League in New York and the Académie Julian in Paris, France. Until Blumenschein established himself as an artist, he worked as a commercial illustrator, and for many years split his time betwen Europe, East Coast (U.S.), and Taos, New Mexico. Eventually in 1918, Blumenschein and his wife Mary Greene Blumenschein, also a highly successful artist, settled permanently in Taos where he was prolific in his art work. He and his wife had one daughter, Helen. Mary Blumenschein died in 1950, and Ernest Blumenschein died ten years later in 1960. Blumenschein, one of the original founders of the Taos Society of Artists, received numerous awards and honors for his artistic work and his paintings are included in many important collections.
From the guide to the Ernest L. Blumenschein Collection, 1891-1993, (Museum of New Mexico. Fray Angélico Chávez History Library.)
