About Santa Fe Art Tours

Santa Fe Art Tours was established in 2015 by art historian, arts writer, and museum educator Elaine Ritchel to provide engaging, interactive tours of art galleries and museums in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

At Santa Fe Art Tours, we’re passionate about art, the stories it can tell, and the impact it can make.

We've distilled a lot of fancy learning theory and museum education methodology to create informative and memorable experiences that are also fun, welcoming, and relaxed. We might call it a tour, but really, it’s about connecting with each other and the world around us through art—all while exploring one of the country’s most beautiful cities!

We take a lot of pride in sharing our local art scene with you. All of our guides are not only well-versed in art or art history, they’re also warm and inviting. They love to get people looking, chatting, sharing, laughing, and enjoying art in a new way.

Our tours are:

  • We take the old adage "quality over quantity" to heart. By visiting a small number of galleries and spending time with a select few works of art, we create time and space to slow down, look closely, and enjoy the experience. It’s like mindfulness in the galleries.

  • Conversation is the cornerstone of our tours. Our approach promotes learning, exploring, and sharing. While art history informs our tours, this is also about you and your personal responses to art. We don't do rehearsed spiels, so every tour is one-of-a-kind.

  • We want you to inspire you to engage, connect, and explore. Through activities that encourage deeper engagement with the artwork on view and conversations with practicing artists and gallerists, we create an active, memorable, and fun tour experience.

  • Our tours are led by guides who have backgrounds in art, art history, or cultural studies. They’re trained in interactive art education methods, and they love to get people chatting on tours.

Meet the Guides

  • Elaine Ritchel

    FOUNDER + LEAD GUIDE

    Elaine fell in love with art at the age of five. She still remembers learning about Monet and van Gogh and being struck by the rich and vibrant colors they used. It's this same fascination and love for art that she brings to her tours.

    Elaine holds a master's degree in art history and specializes in discussion-based teaching. She is passionate about creating art-focused experiences that promote visual literacy, inspire personal awareness, and deepen connections with the world around us.

    Elaine has worked as a gallery teacher and art museum educator in the US and abroad. After a three-year stint in Croatia, where she worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb and the Croatian Association of Artists, Elaine returned to New Mexico to launch Santa Fe Art Tours.

  • Mary Dezember

    TOUR GUIDE

    Mary Dezember is a poet, author and lover of visual, verbal and musical art. As your guide, Mary will offer insights into the concepts of artistic tradition and innovation and the relationship between the arts.

    Mary earned her PhD in Comparative Literature, specialization in Comparative Arts, from Indiana University in 2000, with PhD minors in Art History and Performance Studies.

    Professor Emeritus of English, she also taught Art History at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology from August 2000 to May 2021.

    You can find out more about Mary’s creative work by visiting her website.