William Victor Higgins (June 28, 1884 – Aug. 23, 1949); American painter and teacher, born at Shelbyville, Indiana. He studied at the Art Institute in Chicago and at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In Paris he was a pupil of Robert Henri, René Menard and Lucien Simon, and when he was in Munich he studied with Hans von Hayek. He was an associate of the National Academy of Design. Higgins moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1913 and joined the Taos Society of Artists in 1917. In 1923 he founded the Harwood Foundation with Louise Harwood and Bert Phillips... During the Depression, he was commissioned to paint a mural inside the Taos County Courthouse financed by the PWAP, titled Moises, El Legislador. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Victor_Higgins) William Victor Higgins (1884-1949) of Shelbyville, Ind., was only 14 when a broken wagon wheel near Taos, NM, set in motion events that were to change his life. the so-called "Broken-Wheel Incident," which was the start of the Taos Society of Artists. The Society - and Higgins - became a favorite of the late Indianapolis businessman and collector Harrison Eiteljorg and is a core part of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. In September 1898, artists Bert G. Phillips and Ernest L. Blumenschein were traveling by wagon, heading south from northern New Mexico. As Blumenschein told the story, after reaching the top of a steep grade on a miserable road, the wagon slid into a deep rut. One rear wheel collapsed "and there we were, balancing with our precious load at an angle of 45 degrees." The men tossed a coin to see who would carry the heavy wheel to nearby Taos, and Blumenschein lost. As he traveled with the cumbersome wheel on his back, he was deeply affected by his surroundings. "I was receiving, under rather painful circumstances, the first great unforgettable inspiration of my life," he wrote. "My destiny was being decided." So, too, was the destiny... (http://www.tfaoi.com/newsmu/nmus76d.htm) undefined

More on Google