.
photograph fromThe MOMENT NY Times magazine-
HER world at Abiquiu was beautiful. Abiquiu-Ghost Ranch must have possessed Georgia O'Keeffe. I can see how that could happen. The stillness. The wide horizon. The landscape- it seduces. It took O'Keeffe as its lover and never relinquished its hold on her.
Stieiglitz
AT the time of her first 1929 visit- She was a New Yorker, was already established as an artist, was married to a major photographer, was beautiful. Yes, looking at O'Keeffe- she appears today- the photographs of her are totally modern- a page from one of Ralph Lauren's dreamy lifestyle advertisements.
THE one thing She didn't have was- A place of her own, A place to paint, A place for silence. Albiququ fulfilled those desires- She maintained her marriage,traveling to NY to meet her photographer husband- He never came to Her World. O'Keeffe found herself amongst the ancients: the austere Abiquiu was Beauty, Inspiration, and she remained Faithful to it until her death in 1986 at the age of 98.
Ghost Ranch
ALONG with purchasing Ghost Ranch in 1940, she rented it until then, O'Keeffe purchased another house in 1945 and its restoration was completed in 1949. She lived there and at Ghost Ranch as well. The Abiquiu house was a 5,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial 18ty century compound in Abiquiu and was in ruins. Male villagers of Abiquiu made the adobe brick and the woman of the village-the most skilled in plastering- worked the earth's mud into refined thin walls. Here- her staff took care of the house and property- while she painted. A studio was built beyond the house and a vegetable garden was planted.
HER INTERIORS at ABIQUIU:
Tables of plain pieces of wood on stands, bare bulbs, sticks, Muslin cloth bed covers, white sheeting,an elk horn rack, horns, skulls, large rocks, river rocks & pebbles, Japanese lanterns, & an Alexander Calder mobile, Plywood tabletops, Bancos-rounded adobe ledges at the base of the adobe walls-for sitting.
Chestnut Tree
"I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught."
photograph by Stieglitz,1918
Things you might not know about Georgia O'Keeffe:
William Merritt Chase was her mentor.
Her aesthetic included Chinese and Japanese Art and her work- upon examination- reflects that.
One of her favorite books was The Book of Tea, 1906 Okakura Kakuzo. "The similarities between her own life and the Japanese tea ceremony were obvious- her constant manner, her humility, her exactness, her utterly respectful exactness." ( Christine Taylor Patten from the O'Keeffe At Abiquiu book)
"In 1906 in turn-of-the century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty-and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's the Book of Tea is still beloved the world over. Interwoven with a rich history of tea and its place in Japanese society is poignant commentary on Eastern culture and our ongoing fascination with it, as well as illuminating essays on art, spirituality, poetry, and more. the Book of Tea is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time" (text from here)
" Turn to the pages about flowers. He understands about flowers. You know, he says that a butterfly is a flower with wings. Don't you think that is a fine idea?" G. O'Keeffe
"Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. " Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe has a place at the table of artist Judy Chicag's Dinner Party .The O'Keeffe setting is the last at the Chicago table. Chicago acknowledged the influence O'Keefe on future feminist artists, pronouncing her work as "pivotal in the development of an authentically female iconography" (Judy Chicago)
More about Women of the Southwest in future posts- Millicent Rogers especially, along with Ima Hogg, Mabel Dodge- maybe someday Me.
more on O'Keeffe:
Lifetime Movie Sept 19, Saturday Georgia O'Keeffe, Joan Allen, Jeremy Irons
little augury
the O'Keeffe Museum
Her Houses
at the Whitney Georgia O'Keefffe Abstraction Sept 17 ,2009- Jan 17,2010
from Art In the Picture
from the blog Sexuality in Art: O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams
interior images from O'Keeffe At Abiquiu, text by Christine Taylor Patten, photographs by Myron Wood
photograph fromThe MOMENT NY Times magazine-
StieiglitzAT the time of her first 1929 visit- She was a New Yorker, was already established as an artist, was married to a major photographer, was beautiful. Yes, looking at O'Keeffe- she appears today- the photographs of her are totally modern- a page from one of Ralph Lauren's dreamy lifestyle advertisements.
Stieglitz
"I wish I had kept a diary,
I think I know now that my life is never going to look right."
I think I know now that my life is never going to look right."
Ghost Ranch
ALONG with purchasing Ghost Ranch in 1940, she rented it until then, O'Keeffe purchased another house in 1945 and its restoration was completed in 1949. She lived there and at Ghost Ranch as well. The Abiquiu house was a 5,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial 18ty century compound in Abiquiu and was in ruins. Male villagers of Abiquiu made the adobe brick and the woman of the village-the most skilled in plastering- worked the earth's mud into refined thin walls. Here- her staff took care of the house and property- while she painted. A studio was built beyond the house and a vegetable garden was planted.
HER INTERIORS at ABIQUIU:
Tables of plain pieces of wood on stands, bare bulbs, sticks, Muslin cloth bed covers, white sheeting,an elk horn rack, horns, skulls, large rocks, river rocks & pebbles, Japanese lanterns, & an Alexander Calder mobile, Plywood tabletops, Bancos-rounded adobe ledges at the base of the adobe walls-for sitting.
Chestnut Tree
O'Keeffe
"I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught."
photograph by Stieglitz,1918
Things you might not know about Georgia O'Keeffe:
William Merritt Chase was her mentor.
Her aesthetic included Chinese and Japanese Art and her work- upon examination- reflects that.
One of her favorite books was The Book of Tea, 1906 Okakura Kakuzo. "The similarities between her own life and the Japanese tea ceremony were obvious- her constant manner, her humility, her exactness, her utterly respectful exactness." ( Christine Taylor Patten from the O'Keeffe At Abiquiu book)
"In 1906 in turn-of-the century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty-and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's the Book of Tea is still beloved the world over. Interwoven with a rich history of tea and its place in Japanese society is poignant commentary on Eastern culture and our ongoing fascination with it, as well as illuminating essays on art, spirituality, poetry, and more. the Book of Tea is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time" (text from here)
" Turn to the pages about flowers. He understands about flowers. You know, he says that a butterfly is a flower with wings. Don't you think that is a fine idea?" G. O'Keeffe
"Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. " Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe has a place at the table of artist Judy Chicag's Dinner Party .The O'Keeffe setting is the last at the Chicago table. Chicago acknowledged the influence O'Keefe on future feminist artists, pronouncing her work as "pivotal in the development of an authentically female iconography" (Judy Chicago)
more on O'Keeffe:
Lifetime Movie Sept 19, Saturday Georgia O'Keeffe, Joan Allen, Jeremy Irons
little augury
the O'Keeffe Museum
Her Houses
at the Whitney Georgia O'Keefffe Abstraction Sept 17 ,2009- Jan 17,2010
from Art In the Picture
from the blog Sexuality in Art: O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams
interior images from O'Keeffe At Abiquiu, text by Christine Taylor Patten, photographs by Myron Wood
O'Keeffe and Isak Dinesen really knew how to occupy time space! Both had sculptured faces that showed their lives without regret. Hauntingly beautiful. In my job as a fundraiser I developed a poster project where we would showcase a local artist and produce a poster. One year's artist, a southern woman by birth and education, painted a camillea in opening bud. The printer/sponsor of the project looked at all of that unfurling juiciness said, "Now that can make a good Catholic boy blush." And it did!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done LA. Really, truly enjoyed this post. Thank you. ~s
ReplyDeleteHi LA... my favorite photo of her is on the back of a motorcycle with cuffed jeans, gray hair tied back in a ponytail. Trish
ReplyDeleteLove. Always have and most likely always will.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by O'Keefe when I was young. Not just for her talent, which was considerable, but for her bravery and utter devotion to her art. Funny though, the landscape she loved never spoke to me as it did to her. I needed trees and the sea.
ReplyDeleteI know you've been out there and to Abiquiu- Is this a foreshadowing of your plans? G.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to find O'Keeffe lovers too. I have to say I would have agreed with PTE 10 years ago- and then I was out in Taos, Abiquiu, Santa Fe- and absolutely went bonkers over the landscape- It was a shock to Me that I did. I guess it either grabs you or it doesn't. I could totally live there, and yes maybe someday. G
ReplyDeleteThank you, Thank you, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHer painting hanging on the wall...the beauty of her home....
Elizabeth, So glad you liked this post. I surprisingly fell in love with this area. I was so taken with the tour of her place. Do you miss it at all? G
ReplyDeletethis is an amazing post. I am blown away.
ReplyDeleteHome- I wonder what men really do think of her work. ? I like that HOBAC is a fan. Isn't it interesting that Stieglitz didn't ever see her in that environment-?? I am looking forward to that Lifetime movie- with Joan Allen- who is excellent & Jeremy Irons.
ReplyDeleteUlla, thanks, aren't you busy with all the NY fashion week to do's? G
ReplyDeleteyes, did a couple of shows today. was fun, but my skin doesn't like all the make up anymore. going to see oscar de la rentas show tomorrow. hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures. If you are in NYC for the next fashion show week, let's get together.
ReplyDeletexxx
Sounds like a great movie. I will have to tune in.Love Jeremy Irons. I like the links you have listed here & that you have the additional materials out there and are not afraid to share them with the world. AW
ReplyDeleteAnon, I will be watching, I think the movie will be repeated a couple of times-if not many.The links serve as a sort of Bibliography and footnotes- I hope to incorporate this into all future posts.GT
ReplyDeleteWe lived in Santa Fe for two years before moving to France. I miss the long views and the light. This was a beautiful and evocative post. In the Chestnut tree I still see the lingering traces of Arthur Wesley Dow. Thank you so much for this blog.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Debra Healy
Refreshing images of O'Keefe which have rekindled my interest in her. If I see one more of her paintings on an arty desk diary....!
ReplyDeleteI am going to get The Book of Tea for my inner geisha/feminist artist depending how I feel when I boil the water.
Saw this Sat 19th- and it was well done. Joan Allen did GOK proud. JI was superb as S. I would say he very much portrayed a selfish egomaniac. I really hated S.in this movie. I wonder what he was really like? Another can of worms to open. GT
ReplyDeleteThe interior images of Georgia's home are great. Where did you find these?
ReplyDelete