According to the City of Carlsbad the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center was founded in 1931 and fulfills its mission as a cultural and educational institution through the collection, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of artifacts, documents and works of art relating to prehistory, history and aesthetic environment of the City of Carlsbad and the surrounding communities of southeastern New Mexico and the greater American Southwest (New Mexico, west Texas, Arizona and northern Mexico).
The Museum features permanent displays focusing on local and regional history, Native American art and artifacts, and modern, contemporary and Southwestern art, including the McAdoo Collection of “Taos Ten” paintings. Temporary exhibitions feature Southwestern artists, crafts persons and history topics of interest to people of the region. As a community art center, the Museum also hosts the annual Carlsbad and Loving schools exhibitions (in April and May), the Zia Quilt Guild show (in September) and two Carlsbad Area Art Association exhibitions (in March and October).
WPA art inside the building include “The Jicarilla Apache Trading Post” by LaVerne Nelson Black (1887-1938), created using funding from the Treasury Relief Art Project, depicts Jicarilla Apache Indians at a trading post, some of whom are seen on horseback. It is set at dusk with dark winter clouds in the background and brighter colors on the individuals. — Source “Treasures on New Mexico Trails: Discover New Deal Art and Architecture” by Kathryn A. Flynn
418 W. Fox St. Carlsbad, NM 88220 | (575) 887-0276
