Oral History and Art in Taos, New Mexico

About the Collection

The Oral History and Art in Taos, New Mexico Collection consists of interviews conducted as part of the Oral History and Art in Taos, New Mexico, summer course held during July 2012 in conjunction with Oklahoma State University and the Doel Reed Center for the Arts.

Doel Reed was the painter and printmaker responsible for the art department at OSU. Originally from Indiana, Reed’s interest in art began in the first grade, where he painted his first landscape using watercolors. After studying art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Reed was offered a teaching position at Oklahoma A&M College in 1924 with the task of developing the curriculum for an art department. Reed’s unique background in printmaking helped set OSU’s art department apart from other programs in the region.

Reed retired from OSU in 1959 and moved to Taos, New Mexico, where he continued creating art based on the landscape scenes around him. Reed’s daughter, Martha, continued to live in the house in Taos after her father passed away, and she kept her father’s work. Martha Reed donated the house, its land and her father’s artwork to OSU in 2010 to be used as a teaching facility.

The Doel Reed Center for the Arts offers college-credit classes during the summers for students interested in learning about the communities and culture of the southwestern United States. The Center also offers courses in architecture, history, literature, geology, botany and Native American studies. Reed’s art is on display throughout the Center, and the working studio is used by students and visiting artists every year.

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Oklahoma Oral History Research Program
207 Edmon Low Library
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-7685
liboh@okstate.edu

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