Utopian Vistas: The Mabel Dodge Luhan House and the American Counterculture

by Lois Palken Rudnick

Mabel Dodge Luhan, hostess and visionary, made Taos, New Mexico, a center for artists and utopians when she moved there in 1917 and began inviting friends to visit her. Now available in paperback, Utopian Vistas is a chronicle of the house Luhan built in Taos and the poets, painters, photographers, film-makers, writers, educators, and visionaries whose lives and works were affected by the house and its environs. Lois Rudnick weaves a complex tapestry depicting American countercultures in New Mexico from the 1920s to the 1990s.
"Should be required reading for art historians,film historians, ex-Beats and hippies, their children and grandchildren, and anyone interested in the possibility of making an imperfect America perfect at last."--Karal Ann Marling

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

415 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jules Nyquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Met the author at a talk at the ABQ museum for her latest book on Mabel Dodge Luhan but thought I'd start with this one first.

[Cbphoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a book more specifically about Mabel, be aware that this book is less specifically about her. It does cover many of her guests through the years. I felt it spent a bit too much time on Dennis Hopper than it needed to.

[Bay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one as a portrait of an era when Mabel Dodge Lujan changed the future for Taos and northern New Mexico

[Jane LaFazio · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Mabel Dodge Luhan, this is a must read.