Georgia O’Keffee

May 5 – May 7, 2025                                                         Most Recent Posts:
Santa Fe Skies RV Park                                       First Four Days in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico                                         Petroglyphs and Santa Fe Skies

In the midst of the current heat wave and how sluggish and unmotivated I’m feeling, it is actually nice to read about these days in Santa Fe in early May when there was hail and rain for days in a row with lows in the 30’s.  IN MAY……

May 5th was a rainy Monday when Jodee and I went to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.  I couldn’t get a picture of the outside of the museum so I borrowed this one from the internet showing blue skies we didn’t have on that day. 

The museum costs $22 which shocked me as pretty high until I’d spent some time inside.  They had an excellent video and an audio tour of everything in the museum.  The headsets worked perfectly and I was carried away by the incredible artistic talent of this woman born in 1887, the year before my Great Aunt Carrie.  These two women were contemporaries and both were mid westerners but they could not have been more different.   O’Keeffe died in 1986 at age 98 and my aunt at 102 in 1991.

I have been an admirer of Georgia O’Keeffe ever since I read what is still considered the best biography of her by Roxana Robinson.  It was chosen by the Chautauqua Institution as one of their “book club” readings over their 9 week program when I was there in 1989.  Robinson came to speak about it and her research. There was a discussion of the book.   I cannot recommend the biography highly enough.  O’Keeffe was an amazingly independent talented woman especially for her time.

I’ve been a long time making it out to her favorite part of the world.

The museum took me through her works from this 1903 watercolor of Cherry Blossoms done in 1903 when she was only 16 years old

to some of her final abstract works in the late 1970’s when she returned to watercolor and macular degeneration had made art work extremely difficult for her.  How unbelievably sad for an artist to lose her sight. 

The progression of her art between these times is fascinating.

I feel some connection to O’Keeffe not only because I admire her and her art, but also because she lived in Charlottesville on Wertland Street and attended and taught art classes at the University of Virginia during the summer from 1912 to 1914.   These early paintings of the Cherry Blossoms and the Law Building show her traditional training.

This photograph was taken of her on the UVA Campus at that time.

She is perhaps most well known for her flower pictures and the controversy they sparked at the time of their showing in New York at Alfred Stieglitz’s Gallery 291.

                            1919 Oil on Board   Blue and White Flower Shapes

O’Keeffe said she painted the flowers big so that busy New Yorker’s would take the time to really see them.  She is quoted as saying “When people read erotic symbols into my paintings, they are really talking about their own affairs.”

                                                   Pink Tulip 1925 Oil on Canvas

Georgia O’Keeffe’s first experience of the western landscape was when she took a job in the Amarillo Schools from 1912 to 1918.  She became very attached to the landscape.  In 1917 she made her first visit to New Mexico on a trip to Santa Fe with her sister.  She later said that “From then on I was always on my way back”.

In 1929 she begins her summers in New Mexico first as the guest of Mable Dodge Luhan in Taos.  

Beginning in 1934 she stays each summer at Ghost Ranch where, due to the success of her paintings in Stieglitz’s gallery she is able to buy a home in 1940.

This photograph is of her on her Ghost Ranch house roof in 1944.  She was 57.

I visited Ghost Ranch and saw her home while staying in Taos.  I’ll do a separate blog on that visit.

During her summers at Ghost Ranch, she wandered the huge 20,000  acres collecting bones and painting them.  Horse;s Skull with White Rose 1931 is, like the giant flowers, one of her most well known paintings.

In 1945 she bought and restored an adobe home in Abiquiu New Mexico only about 12 miles from her Ghost Ranch home.  The Abiquiu home was  more comfortable and better equipped for winter, had a large garden with fruit trees and a more social environment not being as remote as Ghost Ranch.  There will be a blog post on my visit to Abiquiu as well. 

This 1943 painting is of The White Place, white sandstone formations which she could see from her bedroom window at this home.

Black Mesa Landscape 1930 was painted when she first stayed in New Mexico at Taos before buying either of her homes. 

Purple Hills at Ghost Ranch #2 in a series.  1934

This depiction of a cliff  with its tall dry waterfall was the view behind her home at Ghost Ranch. 

The mountain painted most often by Georgia O’Keeffe could be seen from the patio door at her home at Ghost Ranch.   She was deeply attached to this flat topped mesa  Cerro Peternal and called it “my private mountain”.  She is famously quoted as saying “God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it”.

I love all of her art but it is her paintings in New Mexico which I love the most and her extreme attachment to her place as well as her insistence that we must all look closely, much more closely than we do, at the magnificence of the natural world around us.

I have to thank Jodee profusely for her patience with me in the museum.  I took FOREVER.

Next up is our visit to O’Keeffe’s home at Abiquiu where I think Jodee caught some of the fever.

First Four Days in Santa Fe

April 30- May 4, 2021                                                     Most Recent Posts:
Santa Fe Skies RV Park                                     Petroglyphs and Santa Fe Skies
Santa Fe, New Mexico                                              Gathering of All Nations

LOW/HIGH ROAD TO TAOS

We arrived on Tuesday and the next morning I had breakfast and was beginning a list of what I wanted to do while here when Jodee texted and asked if I wanted to go check out the road to Taos.   I had been telling her at dinner the night before that I was concerned about Winnona and I climbing up to Taos given that David always did all the mountain driving and Winnona is 21 years old, has over 100,000 miles on her gas engine.  I wondered if I should cancel my two week stay there early enough to pay only a small penalty.

Jodee, unlike me, loves to drive and always wants to do all the driving.   She says being a passenger makes her anxious.  How wonderful for me.  I get to be a passenger again.

So we hop in her cute jeep, Jodee, Tessa and I to drive the “low road” to Taos and the “high road” back. 

The low road follows the Rio Grande river up the Rio Grande gorge.  The scenery is gorgeous, the skies immense.   I love seeing this wonderful geology along side the road.  You could get out and just walk right up to it.   It’s a good thing she’s driving so I can look.

At the Quartzite boat launch onto the Rio Grande we pull in and get out and take a look.  If you read this blog often then you know I am a strong proponent of the “Let the rivers run free” philosophy.   The poor Rio Grande has 15 dams, no wonder the water is low, and many of them are in New Mexico.   I don’t understand how it can be designated a “Wild and Scenic River” with so many dams.  Scenic no doubt, aren’t all rivers?  But hardly wild.  (I step down from my soap box).

My wonderful companions.

We watched this group launch onto the river with their mascot “Bob”.

That’s Bob in the black hat.

Wish I’d asked if they were medical students.

Off they go.

When we got to Taos we were disappointed to find construction everywhere.   Where could we go to lunch was the question.  So I asked google,  “Best place for lunch near me” and it replied with the name of a restaurant nearly right in front of us.  Ok then.  

Once we are parked on the side street by the restaurant, Jodee gets out Tessa’s foldable  steps.   Aren’t they just the thing for an elderly dog?

La Cueva is a very small place with only 3 tables inside and a patio  outside where we sat.  The food was excellent and later, when I was in Taos for 2 weeks, I learned that it is one of the most popular restaurants there.   Nice going google.

On the way back on the high road I took many more pictures since I was not as busy carefully  watching  and considering driving the low road to Taos in Winnona which I decided I could definitely do.  YIPEEE!  Thanks Jodee for allaying my fears.

The high road is the curvy mountain road.  Fun for driving in a jeep, not in a motorhome.

We make a stop to see the St Jose de Gracia Catholic Church built in 1760.   It’s a lovely adobe building with an adobe wall surrounding it.  Both are in excellent condition.  Their age is amazing.

The ornate doors into the courtyard and into the church (which was not open) stand out beautifully with the simple serene adobe.

I can’t get over the snow on the Sangre de Cristo  mountains in the beginning of May.

I wonder how long the snow capped peaks will remain.

Again the views from the highway are outstanding.

It looks like a master sculpture has prepared fantastic art work.

That Mother Nature, she does stunning work.

I have to hand it to New Mexico for their artistic everything.   Even the bridges are beautiful.  Why do no other states do this?  Or at least none that I can think of.  They make me smile every time I see them.

What a great day we had.  Jodee is amazing.  She thought nothing of driving 4 hours round trip in one day so I could check out the road.  Such a great friend.

PECOS NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

On Thursday we (it’s been such a long time since I could use that pronoun) took a shorter trip of only 30 miles to visit Pecos National Historic Park where ancient Pueblo Ruins and a Mission Church are being protected.

Tessa is now 14 and slowing down.  Jodee bought her a buggy so that when she tired, she could ride and Jodee could continue on.  This is the only picture I got of Tessa in the buggy.  She wasn’t a fan.   She’s not sitting or laying down.  Jodee doesn’t seem amused.

We start of course at the Visitor’s Center.

SO much information about the history of this 6671 acres that now make up the park.

The Park’s primary focus is protecting and interpreting the remains of Pecos Pueblo, perched above Glorieta Pass in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Glorieta Pass it the primary gateway between the Great Plains to the east and the Rio Grande Valley to the west. The Park also preserves the site of a crucial 1862 battle in the Civil War, when American troops rebuffed a Confederate attempt to expand beyond Texas into the Southwest.

The original 341-acre monument protecting Pecos Pueblo and the Spanish mission was expanded in 1990 to include the Glorieta Pass Civil War battlefield lands at Pigeon's Ranch and Cañoncito, and the 1900’s Forked Lightning Ranch lands owned by Greer Garson and her husband .

The Pueblo ruins are more than 1000 years old while the mission church dates from the 18th century.  Glorietta Pass was the western most battle of the Civil War.  I had NO idea the civil war was in New Mexico territory.

The visitor’s center is chock full of information, artifacts, and pictures.  There is no way we can see all 3 of the areas of the park in one day.  I concentrate on the Pueblo Ruins and the pottery found here

I think about how thrilling it must be to discover these pieces and put them together to show the artistry and craftsmanship of these ancient peoples.

A thousand years ago.  It just boggles my mind that this pottery jar is 1000 years old.

I am  so taken by the beautiful art of these people.

When I come upon this diorama of their dwellings,  notice how many stories, I realize that I really must get out on the trail before it gets too hot. 

There were two Pueblos located here.   The South Pueblo is between the Mission Church and the Kiva on the map.  The blue star.  The North Pueblo is above the Kiva near the top of the trail.  The green star.  Archaeologists believe the pueblo site, comprising the north and south pueblos, had around 1000 rooms and at its height was home to about 2000 individuals

The three of us set out on the Ancestral Sites Trail.  Jodee tries Tessa in the stroller but she’s not having it.  So I push the stroller and Jodee walks Tessa on the leash.  Jodee thinks she has a bit of spring in her step to prove she doesn’t need the stroller.   Makes me laugh.

Leaving the Visitor Center on the trail above, the first thing you see is the church in the distance beyond the Pueblo Wall

The trail goes by the South Pueblo

A local resident.

These remains are of the 4th church built on this site.  Pecos was visited by expeditionaries with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1540. The first Spanish mission church was built in 1619.

After years of oppression the Pueblo people of the area united against the Spanish and revolted in 1680 and drove the Spanish out.  Unfortunately not permanently.

On a later trip to Bandelier (blog post coming up) Jodee bought a book about the revolt which I think will be very interesting to read.

There were several round Kivas among the ruins but only one was open to go in to.

.

I offered to let Jodee go and I’d wait my turn with Tessa.  She declined but took these pictures of me heading down the ladder.

Such a peaceful atmosphere.  Wish I could have sat down and stayed.

There is so much more to learn about these people, their story, the rebellion.  And other trails to hike.  Definitely a place I would like to return to.

RANDALL DAVEY AUDUBON CENTER

On Saturday morning I went to the Randall Davey Audubon Center outside of Santa Fe and about a half hour from the RV Park for a birding hike.   It’s been my experience that if you want to see birds, you have to be out at dawn.  This one didn’t start until 8:30.

The property was donated to the Audubon Society by the sisters of the artist Randall Davey after his death in 1964.   He had moved to Santa Fe in 1919 and restored an adobe house to use as his residence and studio.  I signed up for a tour of the house for the following Friday.

Davey was born the same year as Georgia O’Keeffe and had lived in New York and been part of the “Ashcan” artists group with connections to Alfred Stieglitz.  O’Keeffe figures large in my trip to Santa Fe but that’s later on.   I suspect they must have known each other.

Photograph 1915 (age 28)                                 Self Portrait 1940 (age 53)

I wonder what he would have thought having his home be a bird sanctuary.  I seem to wonder a lot of things (what do you think Carrie)

Back to the birds.
Most of the birds we saw on this day were in the area around the house.  I’m not familiar with western birds but I believe this is a Spotted Towhee.  Same coloring as our Eastern Towhee

Looks like a Rose Breasted Grosbeak to me but are they even in New Mexico?
I need some birding help from Westerners or Eric and Laurel.

I’m thinking this is the Black Chinned Hummingbird.  I have never seen one and the metallic green color is striking.  Look at the length of that bill.

The Black Headed Grosbeak

The property has a whole series of trails.  I thought I could come early when I came back for the house tour and do some of them. 

It was actually nearly 10:30 by the time we headed away from the house and bird feeders and on to the trail.  I wasn’t optimistic.   But I’d seen a lot of birds so I was already happy.

The house looked very interesting.

I wondered if he had done the art work on the outside walls.

On our way to the trails, we passed this wonderful play structure.  I’m not sure what else to call it.  Of course we all had to go in and up.

I thought about how Celia and Colin would love walking around on the netting and exploring this great structure.

By the time we actually started out on the trail it was 10:30.  Notice the white hanging tile on the right.

Around the house in many places, on shepherd’s crooks, hanging from trees, on poles, were haiku.   They were surprising and fun.

We tried several trails without much birding success.

Sketchy stream crossings.

We heard a few birds including a broad tailed hawk.  But I saw none.

At this point it was approaching noon, the group of 15 or so had dwindled to 6 most of whom were regulars and knew each other.  I needed return to Winnona for an online date with a friend from Charlottesville, so I turned around and headed back.

This was my favorite hike picture.  I’m very glad I came and would return if time permits.   It’s becoming clear already that 2 weeks in Santa Fe is not going to be enough.

That evening Jodee and I went to Back Road Pizza since we both had a craving and they had anchovies which we both like amazingly.  No one else I know likes anchovies.

It was a cute place with my picture again ruined by the light from the windows.

Excellent feta beet salads.  Jodee gives her slice the once over.  Just look at those anchovies.   Yummm….great end to another terrific day.