Pierre Menager and Ojo Caliente, New Mexico

I received a wonderful surprise in my email today from someone who discovered that I had been writing about my grandfather Pierre Ménager on this blog. She sent me a gorgeous watercolor painting of Ojo Caliente, New Mexico that Pierre painted in 1944. The painting originally belonged to her grandparents, then her mother, and now to her. Of the painting she wrote:

"It is a painting of Ojo Caliente, New Mexico which also makes it very special. One of my Mother's favorite stories of her childhood (she is 87) is how when she was a young girl traveling home to Denver from New Mexico with her parents they got caught in a terrible rainstorm and there was a flashflood that left the road at Ojo Caliente impassable. A family living near the road took them into their adobe home and gave them shelter for the night. My Mom remembers having Oatmeal and Tortillas for breakfast the next morning. I like to look at this painting and imagine that one of these homes is that adobe house where they spent the night."

I am so grateful to folks for sharing Pierre's work with me! Many thanks to all of you who have sent me information and photos. (Click on the full image to see a larger version of the painting.)