Entry No. 29 — the Santa Fe file — filed under: history
Encaustic Art Institute
The largest collection of encaustic (hot beeswax) art in the country sits inside a low-slung building in the near-ghost-town of Cerrillos — over 450 works made entirely from pigmented wax, from a nonprofit devoted to a technique most visitors have never heard of, let alone seen a room full of.
The story
Twenty miles south of downtown Santa Fe along the Turquoise Trail, you pull onto County Road 55A into the dusty, quiet fringes of Cerrillos. Inside a low-slung, unassuming building sits something absurdly specialized: over 450 works of art constructed entirely from molten beeswax. This is the Encaustic Art Institute, a nonprofit that has operated quietly for nearly two decades, housing the largest collection of wax art in the country.
Encaustic isn't oil paint with a wax sheen—it is an ancient, difficult medium that involves melting pure beeswax, binding it with damar resin and raw pigment, and fusing each freshly brushed layer with direct heat from a torch or heat gun. The result is a heavy, tactile surface that traps light beneath translucent layers in ways canvas simply cannot replicate. While downtown Santa Fe galleries trade in high-priced desert landscapes, this out-of-the-way space focuses exclusively on an obsession with hot wax.
What it's like
Arriving feels more like slipping into an off-grid workshop than entering a traditional museum. The faint, sweet smell of warm beeswax hits you as soon as you step through the entrance. A $10 admission gets you access to room after room of textured panels, relief pieces, and wax sculptures, usually with few other visitors around to break the silence. After working through the collection, step back outside to explore the unpaved streets and weathered storefronts of Cerrillos.
The move: Drive the Turquoise Trail out to Cerrillos on a Friday–Sunday, wander the wax-art galleries (10 dollars each), then poke around the dusty Old West storefronts of the town itself.
- 📍 Cerrillos
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 18 County Road 55A, Cerrillos, NM 87010
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Casa Grande Trading Post — Just two miles away in Cerrillos, this 28-room adobe hacienda holds a dusty private mining museum alongside a turquoise shop.
- Old Coal Mine Museum — Continue four miles south down the Turquoise Trail into Madrid to walk through three acres of an authentic abandoned coal camp.
- Bostick & Sullivan — Pair this wax-art trip with another archaic medium by visiting this Santa Fe supply house focused on 19th-century wet-plate collodion photography.
Good to know
What is encaustic art?
It is an ancient medium made by mixing molten beeswax with resin and color pigments, which is then painted onto rigid surfaces and fused layer by layer using heat.
How much is admission?
Admission is $10 for non-members. Members of the Encaustic Art Institute and the Museum of Encaustic Art get in free.
When is the institute open?
It operates on a seasonal schedule, typically open Friday through Sunday. Because hours fluctuate, confirm current opening times on their website before driving out.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: eainm.com · moeart.org
last checked: 2026-07-20