Georgia O'Keeffe Museum - SantaFe.com
Georgia O'Keeffe stamp

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

The museum is dedicated to artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) and her works, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum was opened to the public in 1997. It possesses a collection of 3000 works, 140 of these being oil paintings from O’Keeffe, 700 drawings, and a great many works dating from the year 1901 to 1984, including works of modern art. The museum offers a chance for visitors to not only glimpse the artist’s work but her source of inspiration and creative process. See the light and landscape that produced one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. She herself described it as: “the wideness and wonder of the world as she lived in it.”

O’Keeffe’s art style is certainly unique and those who observe will recognize her abstractions and the depiction of natural wonders that includes flowers, bones, leaves, shells, and rocks. Her art also includes paintings of architecture unique to Northern New Mexico and the cityscapes of New York. The museum is certainly worth visiting throughout the year as different sets of pieces are showcased. The museum undertakes the responsibility of maintaining the properties of O’Keefe, a research center, and library.

Georgia O’Keeffe was born November 15, 1887, and grew up on a farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. During the years 1905 to 1906, she studied at the art institute of Chicago. She initially studied the traditional realism art style, but soon was exposed to the ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow. He influenced her into the trend of modern art and she embarked on her own journey of experimentation. Her personal search yielded results and she became one of the first American artists to produce pure abstraction. She was forced into retirement in 1984 due to failing eyesight.

Museum

The museum is located near the Santa Fe Plaza and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday – Monday. It is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Reservations are accepted and tickets are limited, so visit the museum’s website to order your tickets in advance.

Tours

Trips to O’Keefe’s property, which includes her homes and studios, are scheduled via appointment. Her home is located 60 miles northwest of Santa Fe, in the village of Abiquiu. The museum has certainly invested in technology, allowing self-guided app tours and membership. Visit the website for inquiries and details on these trips.

Research center

The research center focuses on exploring, advancements and conceptualizes new ideas on artist Georgia O’Keeffe, American modernism, and museum studies. New ideas are expounded through academic activities, fellowships, and other programs.

Modernism and Modern art

A majority of the museum’s activities are dedicated to American modernism. The philosophical movements and cultural trends of the 19th and 20th centuries define modernism and the changes it has brought. The pioneers of modernism felt that the traditional quickly become dated and ill-suited to their lives. Everything from art, architecture, religious faith, philosophy, sciences, and social organization did not fit with the modern industrialized world.

Related with modernism is modern art, it dates approximately from the period 1860 to 1970 that follows the theme of experimentation and abandonment of traditions. Experimentation with colors and new perceptions of natural or imagined subjects of interest, the art style was a radical shift away from norms. New artists of the era revolutionized the world with multi colored works of expression. The pioneers of modern art were romantics, realists and modernists.

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
217 Johnson St., Santa Fe

This article was posted by Cheryl Fallstead

Please Share!

15 Important Things To Know Before You Move to Santa Fe
Santa Fe New Mexico

You’re probably moving to Santa Fe because you visited and fell in love with the place. We know, it happened to us, too (except those of us who have lived here all our lives!) It is called the Land of Enchantment, after all. There are even a few of us in the SantaFe.com office who have moved away and come back. Whether it’s the consistently amazing sunsets or all the sunshine, scenery and great food, there are myriad reasons to … Read More

Enjoy a Meal at Museum Hill Café
The view outside of Museum Hill Cafe.

Looking for a place that combines good classic food at reasonable prices with cheerful and efficient service? How about adding in a nearly incomparable view out over the Jemez, and a terrace for enjoying it when days are warm? What if it had that in-short-supply perk of easy parking too? Museum Hill Café is just the spot. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! While I find those attributes impressive, Museum Hill Café has other pluses. It sits amid a wealth of art. The … Read More

Randall Davey: Explore An Artist’s Legacy
Exterior of Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary.

Santa Fe painter Randall Davey (1887 – 1964) eschewed the larger art world, knowing that he could have had more success in bigger markets out East and elsewhere. But he preferred to live in the place that invigorated him and paint for himself and get along with his teaching, an occasional portrait commission, and the little amount that came from raising chickens. Davey experimented in several mediums, from oil, encaustic, and pastel, to charcoal, ink, and watercolor. Although has never … Read More

Featured Things To Do