To the Dance (Apaches)

The Russian émigré Léon Gaspard painted in Taos, New Mexico, from 1916 to 1919, finding a chromatic brilliance and folk culture reminiscent of his homeland there. After his return to Chicago, an exhibition of his work at the Art Institute attracted the attention of Julius Rosenwald—president of Sears, Roebuck and Company—and the lawyer Lessing Rosenthal. Together they gathered a group of 20 Jewish professionals to purchase To the Dance for the museum. The group’s support of Gaspard, a Jewish immigrant, signaled their commitment to a modernism based on cross-cultural affinities. They also may have felt a special regard for New Mexico, which was a tolerant home for Jews during the Spanish Inquisition.