F r o m C o w b o y t o C o n t e m p o r a r y

February | MarCh 2012

Len Chmiel: An Authentic Nature Stefan Savides is the Bird Man Ed Mell: Redefining What’s Real Perspective: LeConte Stewart

plus:Wanderings: Fort Worth, Texas Seattle’s Heliotrope Architects Living with Art: Nedra and Richard Matteucci

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teeped in history and lore,

and nestled into the beauty of

Santa Fe’s famous Canyon Road,

the Nedra and Richard Matteucci

residence is the quintessential adobe

home. Set amidst galleries, the home itself

contains a gallery of art and antiques that is wor-

thy of a museum. From chairs made in the early 1900s by

the chief of the Taos Pueblo for friends of Walter Ufer, to an

early period Fortuny chair and carvings by Nicolai Fechin,

the Matteuccis’ personal collection is a tribute to the rich

cultural history of the region, and an homage to the artists

who have called it home.

Written by Shari Morrison Photography by Daniel Barsotti

Nedra and Richard Matteucci celebrate the history of New Mexico and its remarkable artistic legacy in a timeless home

From left: Dating back to the late 18th century, the Matteucci home was built in tra-ditional adobe style while the brick pretil was added in the late 19th century by roof arti-sans who built St. Francis Cathedral Basilica. | The sala or living room showcases John Moyer’s painting A Man and His Daughters over the radiator and mantle, created by WPA artists, which holds a collection of Native American kachinas.

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Opposite page, clockwise from top: In the dining room, a painting by Alice Schille [1869-1955] looks upon a pair of 18th-century Italian candlesticks in front of an antique Spanish Colonial mirror. | The Matteucci gardens add color throughout the property. | A collection of pigs takes up residence by the kitchen kiva. | An 18th-century Italian carved leather chair graces the entry. | Lino Tagliapetra glassworks reminded Nedra of Native American basketry. This page, clockwise from left: E. Martin Hennings’ [1886-1956] painting Through the Greasewood hangs above Nicolai Fechin’s [1881-1955] carved wooden sculpture and two exam-ples of Native American Pueblo pottery. | A 17th-century Peruvian armoire anchors a corner wall. | Sitting beside a Fortuny-covered chair is Dan Ostermiller’s Study for Percheron.

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The owner of Nedra Matteucci Galleries, a renowned Santa Fe gallery celebrated for its collec-

tion of 19th- and 20th-century art, Nedra says that living with art has always been a priority for

her. “As collectors and gallery owners, we feel strongly and believe in the art we sell; I infuse the

gallery with the same fine quality of art and Native American antiquities that Richard and I enjoy

in our home. The furnishings and objects are a bit more eclectic in our home, but our private col-

lection of fine art remains a constant and one which we are excited to continue building on in the

years ahead,” she says.

Visitors are first welcomed to the home in a room filled with devotional art, including a Spanish

Colonial gold-karat covered commode, an exquisite Bargueño from 1550, each drawer hand-painted

on ivory, and a late 18th-century carved figure of San Roque.

As a gallerist who has amassed a sizable collection, Nedra has created inventive ways of pair-

ing works. The ability to surprise viewers extends into her home. In a sitting room filled with his-

torical paintings by Taos Founder artists, for

example, paintings by contemporary artists

John Moyers and Terri Kelly Moyers hold

their own. In this same room, a painted

chair from Russian artist Leon Gaspard sits

opposite a child’s chair painted in response

to Gaspard’s piece by John Moyers. Throughout the home, Nedra creates delightful conversations

between works.

Dating back to the late 18th century, the Matteucci home was built in the traditional adobe style

with no foundation. Its floors follow the natural elevations of the land. In a departure from tradi-

tional adobe construction, however, the Pueblo-style guest home was built with jacal construction,

in which the logs or vigas were set vertically into the ground, then chinked with adobe mud.

Two of its former residents, suffragette and art lover Margretta Stewart Dietrich and her artist sis-

ter Dorothy Newkirk Stewart, added their own touches during their residency in the 1920s. Stewart

painted a large mural in a breezeway outside the kitchen, reminiscent of Diego Rivera, whose signed

tile mural is ensconced in an outdoor wall.

The Matteuccis purchased the home in 1990, shortly after acquiring the venerable Fenn

Gallery from Forrest Fenn, who played a significant role in introducing the Matteuccis to the Taos

Founder artists — Oscar Berninghaus, E.I. Couse and Joseph Sharp — whose works decorate

the walls of the home.

Choosing to leave the structures much as history had written them, the Matteuccis updated

only where needed. They added gardens, created streams and planted trees, discovering along the

way more of the history of the property and the craftspeople who left their marks. The interior

“The furnishings and objects are a bit more eclectic in our home, but our private collection of fine art remains a con-stant and one which we are excited to continue building on in the years ahead.”

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Opposite page, left to right: Daka’s Rattle, a limestone sculpture by Doug Hyde, graces the garden. | A custom-color Le Cornue range updated the kitchen. | Clarice Cliff ’s colorful ceramic (circa 1930) sits between one-of-a-kind Ostermiller elephant candlesticks, made for Nedra’s birthday. | In the entry, Saint La Roch gracefully guards a Spanish Colonial Santos screen. This page, clockwise from left: An early Victor Higgins [1884-1949] painting, Spring Valley Taos hangs over a Venetian Bombe chest in a sitting room flanked by a portal. The floors are covered in brick made at the New Mexico State Penitentiary. | Gardens and streams surround the house and are watered by a well. | Mexican mas-ter sculptor Francisco Zuniga’s [1912-1998] white onyx sculpture rests on a coffee table.

floors of the home are black brick, created at the state penitentiary, with their trademark glaze. Each

room contains a fireplace and women from the nearby pueblos built its kiva fireplaces. Later, when

radiators were added, WPA artists created their white painted grate-work.

For Nedra, the home and its myriad details is a work of art. “These thick walls are pieces of art

themselves — without anything hanging on them,” she declares. “They were made with the sand

and clay from the driveway and their thickness is sculptural to me. I lived in one room for two years

without anything on the walls.”

For Nedra, living in an old home is akin to surrounding herself with art. “You can’t build the feel

that you get in these old homes. This home has a life of its own and you have to respect it — you

have to love an old house,” she says.