Instrumental in Santa Fe becoming an art mecca was the anthropologist Edgar L. Hewett who came to Santa Fe from Greeley, Colorado, in 1893 in search of medical help for his wife, Cora Whitford, who suffered from tuberculosis and died from the disease in 1905. One of his many contributions to the state was the founding of the Museum of New Mexico in 1909. Unlike Taos, which also had an art colony, Hewitt was able to attract major artists from the east to Santa Fe because he provided a new state funded venue for exhibitions of their work.
Carlos Vierra
The first major commercial artist to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Museum of New Mexico was the Portuguese artist and photographer Carlos Vierra. In the early part of the 20th century he moved from New York to Santa Fe, seeking a cure from tuberculosis. It was at Sunmount Sanatorium that he met another patient, the Brazilian architect John Gaw Meem. The Portuguese language created a bond between the two, which led them to spearhead the Pueblo Revival of Santa Fe architecture. Vierra also helped to restore the Palace of the Governors, the oldest capitol building in the United States.
Sheldon Parsons
Sheldon Parsons was the second artist to arrive in Santa Fe in 1913. A prominent painter in New York, he completed commissions for President William McKinley, Vice President Garret Hobart, and other well-known politicians of that era. Like Vierra, he came to Santa Fe suffering from tuberculosis. In 1914 he moved into the historic house once owned by Padre Gallegos on Washington Avenue, which became a meeting place for the bourgeoning artist colony. Parsons became the first director of the Fine Arts of the Museum of New Mexico.