Millicent Rogers was born in 1902 as the heiress to the Standard Oil fortune. After contracting rheumatic fever as a small child, doctors gave her only a few years to live. She proved them wrong, but suffered from poor health for her entire life; enduring several heart attacks, pneumonia, and even a crippled left arm.
No one ever called Millicent Rogers a “poor little rich girl” but she did have several eccentricities; like using a 24-karat gold toothpick at dinner parties, traveling with a pack of 7 to 10 dachshunds at a time, and a tremendous attachment to thousand-dollar Charles James couture blouses (she ordered them by the dozens). During gas rationing in World War II, she simply avoided this inconvenience by hiring a yellow cab and cabby full-time. When the cabby asked, “Where to, Lady?” She replied, “Just keep the meter running ’till the end of this damn war.”….and he did. She even had the cab painted black and the back seat upholstered in leopard print.
She was married 3 times, and had 3 sons, but Millicent Rogers was romantically linked to a number of notable men throughout her life, including author Roald Dahl, actor Clark Gable, author Ian Fleming, the Prince of Wales, Prince Serge Obolensky, and even an unknown “heir to the Italian throne”.
After her third divorce in 1947, Millicent planted herself in Taos, New Mexico declaring that it was, “time to stop falling in love.” She named her home, a reclaimed adobe fort, Turtle Walk and she filled it with Spanish Colonial furniture and native American textiles, pottery, jewelry, baskets, santos, tinwork and paintings. She loved the relaxed New Mexican lifestyle and traded in her usual couture dresses for a daily uniform of an authentic Navajo blouse, a long and full skirt propped up with multiple petticoats, a shawl and bare feet. In 1947, Rogers and several prominent friends hired lawyers and visited Washington, D.C. to promote the issue of Indian rights and citizenship. She even successfully lobbied for Native American art to be classified as historic, and therefore protected.
She died in 1953 as the result of an aneurysm. She was only 51.
Following her death, one of her estate lawyers was heard to remark, “What are we going to do with all this junk?”….refering to the thousands of Native American jewelry pieces that she had lovingly amassed in just a few years of living in New Mexico.
Her sons knew exactly what to do with it all. They founded the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico.
Today it is widely considered to be the gem of the American Southwest.
Here is just a sampling from Millicent’s extensive collection.
(All Photos via The Millicent Rogers Museum)
Wanna see more of her collection? … and can’t make it to Taos any time soon.
Check out the book Fine Indian Jewelry of the Southwest. You can buy one from Amazon here.
I did,
It’s almost like seeing Millicent’s collection in person.
You guys are amazing. I found your blog several weeks ago from another one and I so enjoy all your thoughts and comments. I have learned so much from you-I guess we love the same things and find the same things interesting. I wish you were my neighbors. What fun!!! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! I am always so excited to find you on my blog feed.
Thanks Ruth…Glad we found each other, We started this blog to share the things we liek with like-minded people….Glad you’re here!
Thank you for lovely post on Millicent Rogers. I first learned of this fascinating lady two years ago when we summered in New Mexico. There was a big spread in one of the local magazines about an upcoming festival and she was one of several women they were highlighting. They were saluting her, and the others, for all they had done for NM. She seemed like quite a magnetic personality. If you want to see some beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry, be sure to go to Red River, just outside Angel Fire.
Wasn’t she just amazing? We need more excentric, caring people in the word…Red River is now on my bucket list, Thanks
That yellow cab she hired during the war… Story is much better than just that. She took a taxi one day, and liked the driver, so she did just tell him to keep the meter running, and agreed to hire him as her private car for the duration of the war… But she also had the car painted black… And the back seat upholstered in leopard skin.
She designed her own jewelry and clothes, often,,, to incredible style. It was a shame she was so rich, otherwise she might have been wildly successful.
By the way,,, I have always loved the photo you posted. It is so munificently Milicent. She is wearing a diamond encrusted Russian imperial order, paired with all of those silver Navajo bracelets and somehow pulls it off… She is a goddess.
I am proud to say we are distant relatives. Both of Millicent’s grandparents were Mayflower Rogers descendants, we are all descended from Thomas Rogers. By the way, as a child, her father Harry was a favorite of the family friend, Mark Twain. One of his books is dedicated to ” my young friend Harry Rogers .”
Thanks for this wonderful and informative post. I’m going to check out my local library for the book and add the Taos museum to my bucket list.
Those amazing rugs would look soooo wonderful hanging from the wood railing of my loft….just saying!!! Back to New Mexico, it’s on my bucket list!
Haven’t made it to Taos yet, but we’ve been almost everywhere else in New Mexico….Love that state!!!
Magnificent bracelets.
She made them stylish…she was very fashion-forward
Love that jewelry! It’s gorgeous. But the pillows! I want them!
I wish I had some of that “junk”. Thanks for sharing. I learned something new today thanks to you.
I hope we keep introducing you to new, wonderful people and things…..
Fantastic stuff! I had never heard of her. Thanks for the wonderful history lesson, and the gorgeous pics! I do love silver and turquoise.
Just last month I finished reading Searching for Beauty by Cherie Burns, about Millicent Rogers. I love social history – she was a fascinating character!