Taos Art Museum at Fechin House — Attraction in Taos

My husband and I used this venue for our wedding and I highly suggest looking elsewhere if you are considering doing the same.

From the beginning, we should have known something bad was going to happen. Several caterers we reached out to were hesitant to even cater an event at the Fechin House due to previous poor experiences. That should have been a big red flag but we were excited (and had already paid the deposit) so we chose to ignore it.

We paid for the outdoor garden space and the indoor studio space. We paid for both for 1 hour on Friday and 8 hours on Saturday, with the intention of setting up the studio space for a seated dinner reception Friday so we wouldn't have as much set up Saturday. I emailed the Fechin House on Feb 3rd to confirm that we could set this space up on Friday and was given approval.

On June 15th, exactly one month before the wedding, the contact with Fechin House reached out to confirm that we would be setting up to eat indoors and that setup would begin Friday. I was told they had an art show in the studio, which seemed to insinuate they has double booked. My husband reached out and was told that indoor meals were not done and would not he allowed. There was a back and forth for several days during which time it was suggested that we rent tents and go from there (Note: there really is no space for this). When I requested reimbursement for the cost of the tents and indoor space, described why it would impact setting up a day early, and mentioned they were in violation or their own contract, there suddenly was no issue with our plans. Its also important mention that despite Fechin House claiming indoor dinners are not allowed and have never been done, they advertise it, have a picture of it, and even have a max number of guests for indoor seated dinners.

During these discussions both my fiance and I reiterated our plans to set up the indoor space on Friday multiple times, which had already been agreed to in February. I know for a fact the venue was already aware of these plans and had not forgotten, as they had forwarded the original email stating this to start the discussion of not being able to use the indoor space. Despite these conversations taking place between June 15 and 17th, and confirming (for a 3rd time) our plan on June 29th, Allyn, the rental coordinator, reached out on July 6th to let us know we could not set up on Friday. She is the one who approved it in February, the person my fiance reminded on June 15th/16th over the phone, and the person I confirmed with on June 29th. She made it seem as though it wouldn't be possible due to an art show.

However, at no point Friday evening or Saturday did they appear to have a show in the studio that we paid to rent. Regardless of if they had, we paid to rent the space and the set up had already been agreed to. Instead, we had to set up Saturday, causing my bridesmaids and I to sweat off makeup that was paid for and took hours to apply by a professional MUA, and causing my hair that I sat for hours for and paid significantly for to flatten and become unrecognizable before the ceremony even began. So thank you for making our pictures and memories look worse and making an already stressful day 10x more stressful.

Finally, the venue needs to work on limiting access to private events. Museum guests were allowed to walk through both our indoor and outdoor reserved spaces before and during the ceremony. I could understand guests being allowed in the studio outside of our reserved hours had we been allowed to set up Friday as previously agreed to, but they were walking through everything hours after our reservation for Saturday began. They were also standing around the garden watching our ceremony. It seems easy enough to say, "We're sorry, but these areas are closed for a private event."

The space is lovely and beautiful. We truly wish we could have enjoyed it more, but the stress and uncertainty really put a damper on things and damaged the experience for us. I would suggest making changes to rental agreements and policy...

The Taos Art Museum at Fechin House, is a small art museum housed in the extraordinary former home of artist Nicolai Fechin (pronounced "fay-shin"), his wife Alexandra and daughter Eya. In 1979, the building was placed on the the list of National Registry of Historic American Homes, and New Mexico Registered Cultural Properties. --- Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) and his family immigrated from Russia to New York in 1923. They visited Taos in 1926, and bought a house there a year later. They settled in 1928 and lived in their new home until they decided to completely remodel and expand it in Mission Revival style. For the next five years, they lived in adjacent to the house in the artist's studio that now serves a the gift store and meeting room. --- Fechin carefully planned every detail of his home. He hired two masons to make all of the stucco walls. Fechin himself tirelessly adzed every piece of wood and beam to give it an undulating surface, then stained and polished them. He also designed, carved decorations, and built every door, lamp, and piece of furniture. By 1933, the home was mostly finished. The completed home is masterpiece of its kind, and worth a visit alone for anyone interested in architecture, craft, and design. --- The Taos Art Museum shows paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Nicolai Fechin - who was especially noted for his vivid portraits, landscapes, and still lifes - and works by the Taos Society of Artists (1915 to ca. 1950), founded by a group of six Romantic Western genre painters, in periodically changing...

If you love woodworking or can at least feel a strong appreciation for craftsmanship, then I’m sure you’ll find this museum as impressive as I did. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to the art on the walls (although I’m sure others do) because I was enamored with the woodwork throughout the interior of the museum. This house was a labor of love and you can see the heart and soul that Fechin poured into every detail of his family’s home, especially the spaces that he created for his daughter’s studies. The staff at the museum were incredibly welcoming (I would say the same about all the museums I have visited in Taos, for what it’s worth, but the Fechin staff really made me feel like they love their work). I could definitely see myself coming back in the future and would recommend a stop at this museum to anyone. Their gift shop also had a beautiful selection of local artwork and the gentleman working in the shop went out of his way to give me details about the local artists. This was a really nice visit, definitely the highlight of the museums I...