Winter Pilgrimage

Completed in 1816, the San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church is a large, sculpted Spanish Colonial church with massive adobe buttresses.   The architecture of the church is an impressive blend of native and Spanish styles. It has attracted worshippers from around the world. Because of its imposing form and sculpted body, the church is also a favorite subject for artists. Ansel Adams photographed the church for his Taos Pueblo art book and Georgia O’Keeffe painted a series of perspectives of the church. O’Keeffe once described it as “one of the most beautiful buildings left in the United States by the early Spaniards.”