[1] E. Irving Couse, who studied art in New York and Paris, was introduced to Taos by fellow artist Ernest Blumenschein in 1902.

He became part of the Taos artist colony and bought the house on Kit Carson Road in 1909.

Prior to Ussel, the house was owned by James Quinn, who in the 1850s was a scott captain serving under Kit Carson.

[2] Having spent some summers in New Mexico and having grown to appreciated the area, in 1909 Joseph Henry Sharp purchased a former Penitente chapel in Taos near the home of E. Irving Couse for use as a studio.

[4][5] He then built a two-story house with studio near the chapel[6] and he and his wife Addie moved to Taos permanently in 1912.