E. Martin Hennings

born Penns Grove, New Jersey, 1886; died Taos, New Mexico, 1956

BiographyA native of Penns Grove, New Jersey, Ernest Martin Hennings decided on a career in art after visiting the Art Institute of Chicago in 1899. He attended the Art Institute, graduating in 1904, and opted to continue his studies at the Royal Academy in Munich. While in Germany he studied under Walter Thor and Franz von Stuck, and became acquainted with fellow American artists Walter Ufer and Victor Higgins. Hennings returned to Chicago in 1914 after the outbreak of World War I and worked as a commercial artist and muralist. He traveled to Taos in 1917 under the patronage of former Chicago Mayor Carter H. Harrison and, like his contemporaries, was immediately inspired by the unique qualities of northern New Mexico. He began producing bold and colorful works that often featured the people of Taos. Hennings made Taos his permanent home in 1921 and was elected to the Taos Society of Artists in 1924. He was a part of the Society until it disbanded in 1927 and continued to live and work in Taos for the remainder of his life.

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