Elaina Johann, administrative manager
The last week of October was an eventful one for Museum members and friends that journeyed southwest for an action-packed itinerary exploring museums, galleries, artist studios, and cultural institutions that highlighted the native and contemporary arts of Santa Fe and surrounding areas in New Mexico. Sandwiched between a day in Taos accompanied by Birds in Art artist Timothy David Mayhew and a day dedicated to contemporary arts in Santa Fe was one entirely dedicated to the life and art of Georgia O’Keeffe.
It’s easy to be familiar with O’Keeffe’s iconic work. I remember early admiration for her artwork with a project that my mom presented to my elementary school class as an “Art Parent.” I even used her artwork in a presentation in college where I made connections across generations of artists that inspired my practice. I connected Georgia O’Keeffe, Agnes Martin, and Michelle Grabner, who each showed a trajectory across time of incorporating minimalism and a certain color palette to achieve their compositions. While I attended art school in Milwaukee, O’Keeffe’s paintings took my attention at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Though her artwork has had a presence in my life over the years, her life story was not familiar to me.
At the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
Our artist-inspired day started with a before-hours tour of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Here, we learned about O’Keeffe’s early life growing up on a dairy farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and her early works signified an artist finding their footing while not being afraid to experiment. Later, O’Keeffe moved to New York where she was part of Alfred Stieglitz’s circle of artists—Stieglitz would become her husband, and they were married until his death in 1946. Throughout the museum’s galleries, our tour guide told remarkable stories about O’Keeffe’s life, connecting where she was, who she was with, and life circumstances, to the artwork she was producing at any given time. She certainly had a connection to place, and it was no wonder that she ended up relocating to New Mexico permanently after Stieglitz’s death. While at the museum, I took many pictures of the galleries, but only one photo of a specific artwork: Patio Door with Green Leaf, 1956—little did I know we would be see the artwork’s inspiration momentarily.
Outside Georgia O’Keeffe’s house
Next, we journeyed north to O’Keeffe’s house in Abiquiú, New Mexico. An artist’s environment tends to show a window into their thought process and O’Keeffe’s Abiquiú home was no exception. She certainly had the means to live lavishly, as she was well into a successful career at this point, however, she chose to live a minimal life. O’Keeffe had simple furniture, plywood tabletops, neatly displayed shelves with kitchen items and dry goods, a garden that supplied all of the food she and her staff needed, and of course, plenty of the New Mexican light shining through the windows. Our tour guide told the story of the door that caused O’Keeffe to buy and restore this property that had been in shambles previously. That door was the inspiration for the artwork that I was drawn to at the museum, Patio Door with Green Leaf, 1956. It turns out that she spent a lot of time in the courtyard with her Chow Chow’s contemplating this door and it resulted in many paintings over her years in this house. Here are a few more of that door from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum’s collection:
Black Door with Snow, 1953-1955
Inside Georgia O’Keeffe’s studio
Heading farther northwest, we roamed down dirt roads along the multi-colored cliffs of Ghost Ranch where O’Keeffe found inspiration in the rock formations, standing dead trees, and found objects across the landscape. O’Keeffe even had another home on the dude ranch and split her time between Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú before spending the last few years of her life in the larger city, Santa Fe. At Ghost Ranch, we were astounded by the landscape with reds, oranges, purples, yellows, greens and everything in between, which was complemented by the deep blue of the vast sky. We all noticed something about being in New Mexico, that with no humidity or clouds, you can’t help but be impacted by the light, which has inspired artists for generations. No photograph can do it justice, but O’Keeffe’s paintings get close. Our tour guide helped us spot every cavern and tree that became her muse in this landscape. It was nothing short of breathtaking . . . the perfect end to the day.
Ghost Ranch
Opportunities like this are what make a Woodson Art Museum trip special. We not only see beautiful places and art; be we also leave with a wealth of knowledge. If you are interested in joining us on our next Museum trip, please join our travel newsletter and you will be one of the first to know about our 2026 trip and beyond.
