Stop In Your Tracks: Why You Need to Visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

31 minutes ago
4 min read

Adobe sculpture garden entrance with desert path, statues and plants under a blue sky; calm, sunlit scene, sign reads Sculpture Garden — Image courtesy of Shutterstock & PolinaLVT.

There are two types of museum people: the tortoises and the hares. The tortoises want to absorb as much knowledge as possible. They roam each room carefully, reading every word on every plaque. They are deliberate and expend substantial energy trying to get the most out of their visit. They leave the museum feeling fulfilled and drained. The hares know they have a limited amount of time to learn as much as possible. They walk with purpose through the exhibits. They take pictures of the things they find interesting. They leave the museum feeling accomplished and motivated to learn more at home.

Longhorn skull with sweeping horns and a blue morning glory on a pale white background, stark and surreal. — © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

I am a hare. I am the person who speeds through museums. I am the person who researches before a visit so I know what I want to see and where it is. I am a shark. I keep going. There is only one painting in my life that transformed me from a hare into a tortoise. It wasn't a piece displayed in a special temperature-controlled environment or vaulted in a crypt. It was in a stairwell.

Abstract seascape of white rounded ice floes or stones stretching to the horizon under a pastel pink-blue sky — © The Art Institute of Chicago

Georgia O'Keeffe's Sky Above Clouds IV (1965) proudly hangs as the sole occupant connecting the American art galleries. Its immense size makes viewers feel as though they are soaring above the clouds. When I first saw the piece, I stopped in my tracks. I stood and marveled. It captured a banal moment and made it immortal. A print of the painting hung in my college dorm.

To truly understand a piece of art, you need to understand the artist. Georgia O'Keeffe is a titan of American art, and to learn more about her impact, I spoke with Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Head of Marketing & Communications Debra Heslin about why O'Keeffe's legacy continues to inspire visitors and why the museum remains an essential destination for art lovers.

Georgia O’Keeffe cutting herbs, New Mexico 1960 by Tony Vaccaro in apron arranging plants or flowers at a table by a bright window, focused and calm in a black-and-white scene — Image courtesy of Tony Vaccaro.

Why should someone visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum?
Since 1997, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum has celebrated the art, life, and independent spirit of Georgia O’Keeffe with visitors from around the world. With sites located in Santa Fe and Abiquiú, New Mexico, the Museum offers a comprehensive experience to share the artist’s story in the landscapes that inspired her.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
A visit to the O’Keeffe Museum offers insight not only into the artist’s paintings, but also her creative process and the light and landscape that inspired her. In addition to the main Museum campus in Santa Fe, the O’Keeffe Museum maintains O’Keeffe’s two homes and studios in northern New Mexico, a research center and library, and a variety of collections relating to O’Keeffe and modern art.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
The Museum’s collections of over 3,000 works comprise 140 O’Keeffe oil paintings, nearly 700 drawings, and hundreds of additional works dating from 1901 to 1984, the year failing eyesight forced O’Keeffe into retirement. Throughout the year, visitors can see a changing selection of these works. In addition, the Museum presents exhibitions that are either devoted entirely to O’Keeffe’s work or combine examples of her art with works by her American modernist contemporaries.

In 2006, the Museum took responsibility for the care and preservation of O’Keeffe’s home and studio along the Chama River in Abiquiú, New Mexico, about an hour north of Santa Fe. A national historic landmark and one of the most important artistic sites in the United States, the home where the artist lived and worked is open for tours by appointment. O’Keeffe’s first home in New Mexico, about 30 minutes northwest of Abiquiú at the Ghost Ranch, is also cared for by the Museum though it is not currently open to the public.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center opened in July 2001 to house offices for staff and fellows, and the Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive. The Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive supports the Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and activities through research services and resources with an emphasis on studies of Georgia O’Keeffe and her contemporaries, related regional histories, and Modernism. The library and archive make accessible a variety of materials to support research conducted by the public and the Museum’s staff, and are open by appointment.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Educational programs at the Museum serve thousands of students and adults per year with a robust slate of workshops, lectures, conversations, and classroom activities.The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Research Center opened in July 2001 to house offices for staff and fellows, and The Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive. The Michael S. Engl Family Foundation Library and Archive supports the Museum’s exhibitions, collections, and activities through research services and resources with an emphasis on studies of Georgia O’Keeffe and her contemporaries, related regional histories, and Modernism. The library and archive makes accessible a variety of materials to support research conducted by the public and the Museum’s staff, and is open by appointment. Educational programs at the Museum serve thousands of students and adults per year with a robust slate of workshops, lectures, conversations, and classroom activities.
What was Georgia O’Keeffe’s impact on American art?
One of the most significant artists of the 20th century, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887--1986) was devoted to creating imagery that expressed what she called “the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it.” O’Keeffe’s images—instantly recognizable as her own —include abstractions, large-scale depictions of flowers, leaves, rocks, shells, bones and other natural forms, New York cityscapes and paintings of the shapes and colors of architectural and landscape forms of northern New Mexico.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Why does O’Keeffe’s work continue to resonate today?
Georgia O'Keeffe continues to have national and international appeal today. Outside of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, her work is included in major museum collections across the nation. In addition, there are several upcoming special exhibitions on view today internationally, including the following below.
Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
Image courtesy of Hauser & Wirth,
Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
How does the Museum honor O’Keeffe’s legacy and work?
The Museum's mission is to celebrate the art, life, and independent spirit of Georgia O'Keeffe. By offering visitors and community members of all ages a chance to learn more about the artists and connect with educational programs and events that are inspired by her legacy.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
What does the future look like for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum?
The future is very exciting for the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Expected to be completed in 2028, is an expanded campus to present more of the collection and grow the Museum's programming.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.