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For over a century, El Palacio has been a forum for voices exploring New Mexico’s art, archaeology, history, and landscape. Explore the writers, photographers, historians, and scientists whose perspectives have defined the magazine’s pages—past and present.
Arthur Sze is the current U.S. Poet Laureate. Sze is a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of twelve books, including Into the Hush, Sight Lines, and others. Sze’s poems have been translated into fifteen languages, and he is the recipient of the National Book Award among many other honors. He lives in Santa Fe.
Deborah Jackson Taffa is a citizen of the Quechan Nation and Laguna Pueblo. Her memoir Whiskey Tender was a 2024 National Book Award Finalist and was longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Taffa serves as the director of the MFA in creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Cara Romero is an award-winning contemporary fine art photographer. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero’s expansive oeuvre has been informed by formal training in film, digital, fine art, and commercial photography. She maintains a studio in Santa Fe, regularly participates in Native American art fairs, and was featured in PBS’ Craft in America (2019).
Michelle Gallagher Roberts is a cultural professional whose work explores the intersections of place, heritage, and public life. With nearly 30 years in the museum field, including more than 15 years at the New Mexico Museum of Art in various roles, she brings a depth of experience shaped by museum operations, preservation, and long‑range cultural planning. She currently serves as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, where she guides major initiatives and oversees statewide cultural infrastructure projects, including the construction of the New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary. Alongside her leadership roles, Michelle has been an active writer and contributor to the field’s professional literature. Her publications include chapters in Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions (2015; 2nd ed., 2018) and Museums & Revenue (2019). She has also written for El Palacio, drawing on her long engagement with New Mexico’s cultural institutions. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology from Central Washington University and a Master’s degree in Anthropology/Museum Studies from the University of Denver; she also completed the Getty Leadership Institute’s Next Generation program in 2017.
By Michelle Gallagher Roberts In early 2007, staff at the New Mexico Museum of Art were implementing the first phase of planned collecting storage renovations that required all artworks from the first collection storage room be removed from the space to allow for the installation of new state-of-the-art compact art storage. More than 1,700 artworks had to be inventoried and relocated in the span of nine days.
![A weathered metal bell with a rounded top and an inscription reading AÑO D 1835 on its side. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2019-06-21-10.55.37-400x225.jpg)
BY MICHELLE GALLAGHER ROBERTS More than one bell has graced Acoma tower over the St. Francis Auditorium, ringing in key moments in the New Mexico Museum of Art’s history. These bells have their own stories to tell. One bell is steeped in myth wrapped inside a legend. (more…)
![Spacious lobby with wooden ceiling beams, tiled floor, information desk, digital display screen, and a person seated at the counter. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Featured_LightLobby-400x225.jpg)
When the New Mexico Museum of Art opened its doors as a purpose-built art gallery for the Museum of New Mexico in 1917, the building exemplified a new/old style of architecture that helped to define Santa Fe Style. As the celebration of the New Mexico Museum of Art’s 100th anniversary approached, museum staff prepared to give the architecturally significant building a thoughtful renovation.
Two nearly identical paintings of a young cowboy named Gerald Marr: one is owned by the New Mexico Museum of Art, the other by the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. Both paintings were created by noted New Mexico artist Peter Hurd between 1952 and 1953. Both feature Gerald Marr in three-quarter profile looking off to the left. In a characteristic Hurd composition, Marr’s bust is superimposed on a typical New Mexico landscape of rolling hills, wide blue sky with white clouds, and cattle fencing (Hurd’s San Patricio ranch).
