Georgia O'Keefe

Betty and I went to a members reception at the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame tonight for their new exhibition on Georgia O'Keefe--it was scheduled, then cancelled, for last Thursday when the world was cancelled because of snow. The exhibition was wonderful, focusing on O'Keefe's fascination with remote areas in New Mexico. There were a few of her paintings, but also photographs of her by Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, and even one by Laura Gilpin, a couple of letters to her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, many rough sketches that one wonders how they were translated into paintings. Also shown for the first time were pieces of her camping equipment--pots, pans, cooking utensils, a small portable table, a tent and sleeping bag (with signage about the unpredictable weather of New Mexico). And tennis shoes--as I suspected, they were of a good size, but not as big as mine. I didn't know that O'Keefe had taught in Virginia until this exhibit, and there was bare mention of that experience, but no mention of her time in Amarillo. One can easily imagine that the lush green of Virginia didn't appeal to her, given her later fascination with New Mexico.  The focus of the exhibit was clearly on New Mexco, Ghost Ranch, and her fascination with the land, her love of camping out in its remote places. Her two favorites were The Black Place, which appears to be in the northwest corner of the state, and The White Place, which is a bit north of Abiquiu, though there are many more sketches and photographs ofThe Black Place and she wrote that The White Place was so remote she didn't like to go there alone.
The photographs of O'Keefe are fascinating--in many she is grim, reclusive, unapproachable, but there is one of her on a boat trip down the Colorado River where she looks content, even happy, and one of her sketching that looks almost reverent. She was apparently a really self-contained women, and I envy her that. I always think that my need for the city and people is a weakness, and here is this woman who spent so much of her life alone in New Mexico, especially at Ghost Ranch. And who created art that endures. The exhibit provides an  unusual insight into O'Keefe as a person. If you're in Fort Worth, you must not miss it.
I had told Betty we might get a free dinner at the reception, but it might only be cheese and fruit--the latter was true, so we went to the Tokyo Cafe and had sushi for supper. So good. And we had a lively visit. A good evening. I'm going to have to read more about Georgia O'Keefe.