Published: April 29, 2022
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Dear Friends,
I am working to identify Friends who share my concerns about the preservation of our historic meetinghouse here in Santa Fe. Santa Fe Meeting continues to own this home of Olive Rush with its collection of original furnishings and artworks by Olive. After serving as our meetinghouse for many years, the meeting has bought a larger building for a newer meetinghouse that can hold more people.
The future of the Canyon Road property is now uncertain. Olive Rush’s family proposes to try to create a foundation to honor Olive’s and the Quaker legacy it represents and to invest in the preservation of her historic home and studio. Others propose that the meeting should sell to sell the property, which would likely result in another commercial art gallery on Canyon Road.
I wish to alert Quakers in other communities to the risk of losing this landmark which is one of the oldest meetings west of the Mississippi and a memorial to one of 20th century’s pioneer woman artists.
I am an Art Conservator and attender of the Meeting and have been researching Olive’s life and art for the past ten years. I am seeking interest and support from the broader community to help save the integrity and history of the Olive Rush Studio. I am pursuing this without the formal support of the Santa Fe Meeting.
Please contact me at bettinaraphael[at]msn[dot]com
from Bettina Raphael, Santa Fe Friends Meeting (4/26/2022)