Oscar E. Berninghaus (1877-1952) was born in St. Louis, Missouri where as a youth he worked in a printmaking shop while attending night school at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. His first major painting commission in 1899 led him to Taos, New Mexico, establishing an anchor which would change the trajectory of his career forever. Immediately captivated by the region Berninghaus began returning yearly to paint the landscape and local scenes. In 1915 he became one of the founding members of the Taos Society of Artists and in 1925 moved to Taos permanently where he painted until his death in 1952.