In the context of this artwork, explain the History of the Description.
In 1918–1919, Marsden Hartley and a group of artists visited the American Southwest. One destination on this trip was the state of New Mexico, specifically the town of Taos, the nearby Taos Pueblo Reservation (which housed a resident group of artists known as the Taos art colony) and Santa Fe. Hartley and his fellow travelers lived in the art colony for 18 months. During this period of habitation, Hartley made a mental note of the area's topography, sky, and a small cemetery nearby. However, he was unable to render the scene into a painting at the time.While visiting Europe (in a trip from 1923 to 1924), Hartley began painting a series of works he called "recollections". The works Hartley produced in this series were painted from memory, with one such work being Cemetery, New Mexico, a Modernist painting depicting a small cemetery in Taos Pueblo. As noted in the Met's profile of Cemetery, Hartley painted from memory to emulate American artist Albert Pinkham Ryder, who the former admired.
Taos art colony New Mexico Taos Pueblo Reservation Modernist Taos Albert Pinkham Ryder Marsden Hartley Santa Fe