Early Life, Family and Training

Ila Mae McAfee emerged from the rugged landscape of Gunnison, Colorado, where she was born on October 21, 1897, or perhaps 1900. Her early years provided the foundation for a career that would eventually span painting, muralism, illustration, and authorship. She began her formal education at Western State Colorado College, a starting point that led her toward the rigorous technical training required for professional work. This trajectory took her through the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design, institutions that demanded a disciplined approach to form and composition.

The most decisive period of her development occurred in Chicago. While studying under the muralist James E. McBurney, McAfee transitioned from a student to a professional assistant. This period was not merely about technical skill; it was where her personal and professional lives intersected. It was in Chicago that she met Elmer Page Turner, a fellow art student. Their connection was rooted in their shared dedication to their craft, leading to their marriage in 1926.

McAfee’s training was not limited to a single discipline. Her ability to move between the intimate scale of miniatures and the expansive requirements of mural painting suggests a versatile technical background. By the time she moved toward the Southwest, she had already mastered the fundamental mechanics of her medium through these diverse educational experiences. She was not a hobbyist; she was a trained specialist in the making.

Life and Activity in Taos

McAfee arrived in Taos, New Mexico, in 1928, a move that anchored her career in the heart of the Taos Art Colony. She established her presence there by building the White Horse Studio, a space that facilitated her long-term immersion in the local landscape and culture. Her involvement in the community was not merely social; she was a working artist of the WPW New Deal Art project, contributing to the era's significant public art initiatives. This period of her life was defined by a steady, professional engagement with the regional environment and its people.

Her presence in the Taos art scene was recognized late in her life when she was designated Taos Artist of the Year in 1981. This distinction acknowledged decades of work produced within the high desert. Her output during her years in New Mexico was characterized by a specific focus on the local terrain and the lives of the people inhabiting it. She did not merely observe the landscape; she integrated herself into the institutional fabric of the region's artistic community.

Artistic Subjects and Commissions

McAfee’s output was defined by a specific, disciplined focus on the American West. She functioned as an animalier and a muralist, moving between the intimate scale of miniatures and the expansive requirements of public walls. Her reputation rests on her depictions of horses, Western themes, and landscapes. She also focused heavily on portraits of Pueblos, capturing the specificities of the region through a lens of direct observation. This wasn't mere scenery; it was a deliberate engagement with the subjects of the high desert and the ranch life that defined the era.

Her reach extended into the public sphere through the Section of Painting and Sculpture. During the Depression, she secured commissions for post office murals in several locations, including Gunnison, Colorado; Clifton, Texas; Cordell, Oklahoma; and Edmond, Oklahoma. These works required a different kind of spatial command than her smaller studies. She also contributed to the literary world, serving as both author and illustrator for Indians, Horses, Hills, Et Cetera. Her illustrative skill was further applied to Historic Costume: A Resume of Style and Fashion From Remote Times to the Nineteen Seventies by Katherine Morris Lester.