New Mexico,  Travel & Places

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

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For some reason I’ve had the inspiration to finally look at some New Mexico photos from our trip last June! I want to start with our visit to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which is a place I’ve wanted to go to since forever. My first introduction to O’Keeffe’s work was in my 6th grade art class back in the spring of 1992 and I’ve been smitten ever since! I *may* have seen her work before at the Kimbell in Fort Worth a long time ago but I don’t recall it so the first time I actually recall seeing her work in person was about four or five years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston when we exited from the Van Gogh exhibit that was touring at the time. I saw the work from across the room and beelined it over there because I knew exactly whose it was.

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I had some conflicting feelings about New Mexico during our trip, mostly Santa Fe, and going during a major fire outbreak didn’t help my impression or ability to get to know the state because most public lands were closed. I think finally toward the end of the week when we went to the museum I started to feel better about it all. I was mostly frustrated with how touristy Santa Fe was, which I probably should have known beforehand. Duh!

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The art was divine, of course. I liked some of her earlier works, the works that didn’t scream “Georgia O’Keeffe”, such as this watercolor. It was a glimpse into an artist during a different period in her life as she worked out her style.

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I was glad we were able to take photos of some of the art but others had small tags denoting no photos were to be taken, which of course were some of my favorite pieces in the exhibit!

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O’Keeffe’s work definitely inspires my own painting (when I do it!). I like the enlarged, macro view of things. I want to see it close up, abstract it a bit.

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I really appreciated a small exhibit towards the back of the museum that had some of her shells and rocks that she gained inspiration from in her art work. It was a reminder that mundane everyday items can become something wonderful when put down on canvas.

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There was also a black and white photography exhibit from another artist who had spent time with her on her ranch and taken photos of her. I thought I had a few photos from that but I’m not finding them in my Flickr and it’s kind of difficult to search through at the moment. I would absolutely recommend going to the museum if you are traveling to or through Santa Fe. It’s worth your time and money to see the work. And now, I might be inspired to start doing some painting once again! I also want to go back to New Mexico now!

7 Comments

  • Judy

    I saw a Georgia exhibit at New York Botanical Garden several years ago. It was Hawaiian flowers that she did for the Dole company. I’ve seen her work at MFAH, as we go down there often.

  • Anna K

    Lucky you who got to see her work up close… And you’ve been to the Kimbell too. That one is on my bucket list architecturally – we studied it in school. Hope you get to return soon, during a less fiery season.

  • Ray

    If you get the chance, tour her home and studio in Abiquiú — It’s quite special. Especially her kitchen where you can see her handwriting on jars, recipes, etc.

    Ray

  • shoreacres

    I’m a great admirer of her work: the feathers, rocks, and urban scenes as much as the flowers. There was a great exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that I visited, but I’ve never been to any of the museums, etc., in or around Santa Fe. On the other hand, I do have a lovely,large chunk of rock from near Abiquiú — better than any refrigerator magnet or postcard!

  • Patrice La Vigne

    I wish you visited us when we lived there 2016-2018. We lived in a little unknown corner that was NOT touristy. I felt the same about Santa Fe, and in fact only went there twice because of that! You would love the northeastern part along the CDT where she painted.

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