In the early part of the 20th Century, many artists were drawn to the Taos area to pursue a new, truly American art devoid of industrial influence, inspired instead by New Mexico's landscape and light and the traditional Native American and Hispanic cultures of the region. The Harwood Museum of Art collection brings to the public a unique record of this artistic convergence from its beginnings to the present day. The embracing spirit of the Harwood was set by the artist Burt Harwood and his wife Elizabeth. Burt Harwood died in 1922, and in 1923, Elizabeth Harwood, joined by Victor Higgins and Bert G. Phillips of the Taos Society of Artists, established the Harwood Foundation in honor of her late husband, as a nonprofit foundation to serve as a cultural center for Taos.