As guardian angels go, you would be hard pressed to find a more unlikely one than

Tahoma slept in a room at the rear of the Eppie's bungalow

Spanish-American, hard-working, wheeler-dealer, political-pro Eppie Montoya. But Eppie indeed served as a guardian angel when Quincy Tahoma most needed help.

We never found out for sure how Eppie met Tahoma and decided to offer him a home, but it could have been through his connections with the Christian Brothers and the Catholic Diocese of Santa Fe, or through Jim Silva the art dealer who also befriended Quincy, or it could have been through political connections.  We know that Eppie had connections with judges and with the warden of the state prison.  We have not talked here about Quincy Tahoma’s connection with the state prison, but we may get around to that eventually.  At any rate, when the Navajo artist needed a place to stay, Eppie invited him to his little adobe house on Alto Street in Santa Fe.

Not that it was unusual for Eppie to take in a stray.  One of his daughters, Dolores Castillo, told me,

My daddy used to tell us “you have to treat everybody good, because you don’t know what angel is going to come through that door.”  And he says, “you don’t know what day your child will need something and somebody will be there for them.”  Sometimes he’d make a big pot of posole and he’d look out the door and see people passing by and he’d say, “Come on in.  Come on in.”  I know my older sisters used to get mad because they’d be embarrassed.  We [Dolores and her brothers Morris and Frankie] were small.  We thought it was neat.

Eight children altogether came and went through the years, as well as various “strays”, like the man who stayed for 25 years after being released from an insane asylum. He had been sentenced to the stay in lieu of prison for killing his wife.

Josie and Eppie ran a restaurant, Guadalupe Cafe, and Josie was famous for her tortillas. When the restaurant did not make enough money–partly because Eppie insisted on giving away food to people–he used his political connections and got a highway job.

Eppie’s political activities shed a light on life in Santa Fe and New Mexico during mid-twentieth century and explained some of Tahoma’s life.  According to several accounts, Eppie would report to  the publisher of the New Mexican newspaper, who would supply him with a stack of dollar bills to be handed out to people who voted the right way.  One Montoya daughter who did some genealogical research was astounded to find an Eppie Montoya and Josie Montoya registered to vote in every county in New Mexico!

It was a small town and as Charnell and I researched, we began to think that half of the residents were related to Eppie Montoya–either Montoyas, a very common name in Santa Fe– or Ortega, Josie’s maiden name. Learning about Eppie from the members of his family helped us understand how it was that Quincy Tahoma, the Navajo who came from (he said) no family on the reservation, could have influential friends like lawyers and judges and some of the wealthiest people in town.  Everyone knew everyone, and since Democrats were in the majority, Eppie’s ties cemented Quincy Tahoma’s relationship to important people.

With Eppie and Josie, he found a woman he called “mama”, a place to sleep and to paint, and connections.  It must have seemed like heaven to a displaced man.

To learn more about Santa Fe history, read Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog, by John Pen LaFarge

Have you ever been lonely or alone and been helped by someone with such wonderful generosity?

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

*Santa Fe Downtown map

* The numbers on the map do not denote Tahoma stops. Click on the map to see WikiMaps list of Santa Fe attractions.

(See Stops One, Two and Three in the post directly beneath this one.)

Stop Four: The Oldest Church, Sisters of Loreto and St. Michael’s School

South along Washington Street (the east edge of the Plaza) your path will pass three Santa Fe attractions. First, the Sisters of Loretto Chapel with a mysterious staircase; then you come to the historic Chapel of San Miguel (which definitely was a landmark during Tahoma’s time); and next go down the nearby alley, East DeVargas,  past The Oldest House. Almost directly across the alley form The Oldest House stands the building where the Christian Brothers who ran St. Michael’s High School (later a University), had an infirmary. They allowed Tahoma to stay in the infirmary from time to time in exchange for doing some paintings for them. He worked on the top floor of the beautiful territorial style building.

Stop Five: St. Francis Cathedral

Now return to Alameda Avenue and go east. You will come to Cathedral Place. Follow that roughly north and you will find St. Francis Cathedral, where Quincy Tahoma’s funeral was conducted in 1956.

TO BE CONTINUED. We will talk another day about the many places that Quincy Tahoma lived in Santa Fe and perhaps we will take a trip to the cemetery where he is buried.

The photo above comes from Flickr with a Creative Commons license. Click on the picture to see more by the same photographer.

Have you visited Santa Fe and The Plaza? Do you like to follow in the footsteps of a famous former resident when you visit a place?

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Doctors, clergy and police share a common bond.  They all administer to folks having a bad day.

Most of the time, these seasoned professionals can perform their duties without becoming personally involved.  But Navajo artist Quincy Tahoma – personable, handsome, talented, intelligent and often drunk – broke through the protective shields of all three groups and wiggled his way into the hearts of a doctor at the Santa Fe Indian Hospital, the religious order of the Christian Brothers and, believe it or not, custodians at the Santa Fe jail.

The beautiful palomino stallion Quincy Tahoma painted two weeks before his death in 1956

In the early to mid 1950s, when Tahoma’s alcoholism had advanced, he would be scooped off the street and sentenced to “ten or ten”, a $10 fine or ten days in the clink. (The ante was soon raised to 25 or 25.)  Since Tahoma never had any money left after a binge, he would spend the next several days in jail where the policemen on duty sometimes gave him a sugar solution or even more alcohol to help him recover and avoid delirium tremens. His jailors liked him because he was quiet and polite; he did not get involved in fights.

Since he was a regular boarder, Detectives Clifford Brito, Dickie Montoya and Abundio Armijo, Jr. (Bundy), came to appreciate Tahoma’s gentle nature, engaging personality and his remarkable artistic talent.

They noticed that when Quincy tried to paint in the common cell assigned to drunks he had trouble painting, so Brito gave him small janitorial tasks, such as sweeping up around the jail house, to let him out of his cell. Dickie Montoya brought him art supplies, and Bundy, the police  investigator who also served as the official photographer, offered to let Tahoma use his photo lab.  Thus the combination of their heartfelt gestures allowed the Navajo artist to keep painting during these interludes.

Clifford Brito in 2004 holding the painting Tahoma designed especially for his mobile home's threshhold

Tahoma always remembered kindnesses paid him and he frequently returned the favor with a painting.  The one he designed especially for over the doorway of Clifford Brito’s mobile home can be viewed up close in the post entitled Tahoma’s Horses.

When Bundy was given this beautiful painting of a majestic palomino horse, he never imagined that he would be called to photograph the artist’s death scene just two weeks later. This painting is one of the last Tahoma created, and Bundy has treasured it for more than 50 years.

Abundio Armijo, Jr. in 2004 holding his very special Tahoma painting

You can learn about some other Tahoma supporters — the doctor and the Christian Brothers — when you read the book, Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist, coming soon to a museum, book store, art gallery or specialty gift shop near you! If you can’t wait, preorder by sending us a message. Go to the Contact Us section on the right.

Charnell’s post script: Sadly, both Dickie Montoya and Clifford Brito passed away before the book was published.  Vera and I thank them for their invaluable contributions to Tahoma’s story.

We have photographed many paintings that Tahoma gave as gifts to people who helped him.  We know there are more out there.  Do you have such a painting, or know a story about someone who befriended Quincy Tahoma?

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.

New Orleans Balconies

I’ve just returned from a few days in the wonderful, timeless city of New Orleans.  I could not help wondering if Quincy Tahoma ever saw that city?  The odds are slim, but the possibility persists.

The De La Salle Christian Brothers, a French Catholic religious order, founded St. Michael’s school in Santa Fe in 1859 as part of San Miguel Mission.  Originally, the school was open for boys only, and girls went to the Sisters of Loretto Academy nearby.  The street now known as Santa Fe Trail was called University in Quincy’s day because it ran beside the St. Michael’s school.

Quincy Tahoma found a friend in Brother Francis at St. Michaels during the 1950′s. In exchange for a place to stay when he was out of money and recovering from a bout of drinking, Quincy painted pictures for the Christian Brothers, which they still display in their living quarters on the campus of the new St. Michael’s High School on the east side of Santa Fe.  Quincy wrote a letter to Brother Francis after the former principal of the school had retired to the main office of the Santa Fe District of the Christian Brothers. That main office still stands in Lafayette, Louisiana.

In the letter, Quincy says that he might come down there next winter, and inquires whether they have any museums there. Harrison Begay says that he thinks Quincy once traveled to Louisiana, but we can find no other record of such a visit. We have also been unable to learn whether the Christian Brother’s archives contain any correspondence between Quincy and Brother Francis, or if any of his paintings made their way to Louisiana.

Of course, if you have any knowledge about this chapter of Quincy’s life, or if you can lead us to someone who might know, we would appreciate your help.  We are sharing what we know so that others may share with us what they know about Quincy Tahoma. The more stories we have, the better picture we can paint of his life.

Posted by Vera Marie Badertscher May 25, 2009

Photograph by Vera Marie Badertscher. All rights reserved.

©2012 Quincy Tahoma Blog. All Rights Reserved.