The landscape of New Mexico was a source of inspiration for artist Georgia O'Keeffe.
Georgia O'Keefe was a famed American artist. Known for her abstract paintings of flowers, building and landscapes, O'Keeffe eventually came to be inextricably associated with the American southwest, which she called home until her death in 1986. For those looking to learn more about O'Keeffe and her art, there are a variety of possible activities that will educate you about her work, her life and her unique aesthetic.
Georgia O'Keeffe
Born on a Wisconsin farm in 1887, Georgia O'Keeffe studied art in Chicago and New York. During the 1920s O'Keeffe began painting large-scale abstracts of flowers and other natural forms, focusing closely on details as if they were viewed through a magnifying glass. Her subsequent abstract depictions of New York skyscrapers were also influential examples of modernist art. She eventually moved to New Mexico, which became her home base for the rest of her life. Working primarily around Taos and an area known as Ghost Ranch, she painted numerous landscapes of this desert region. Georgia O'Keeffe remains an important figure in American art.
The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is an excellent source of activities related to the work and life of O'Keeffe. Visitors can view a permanent collection of O'Keeffe's work, and the museum also offers regular exhibitions of other artists. Activities available at the museum include touring the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center, which sponsors research in American modernism. The museum also offers educational programs for youth, adults and families. During the summer, children between the ages of 11 and 13 can participate in the museum's O'Keeffe Art and Leadership Program for Girls or O'Keeffe Art and Leadership Program for Boys, programs that encourage self-expression through the exploration of O'Keefe's work.
Ghost Ranch
Some of Georgia O'Keeffe's most renowned paintings are landscapes she painted in the environs of Ghost Ranch, located about 65 miles from Albuquerque. The Ghost Ranch Retreat & Education Center offers O'Keefe aficionados the chance to walk in the artist's shoes via its Georgia O'Keefe Ghost Ranch Landscape Tours. In addition to a bus tour to many of the actual locations of O'Keefe's paintings, a walking tour takes you through the area O'Keefe called her "red hills" so you can share the same experience that provided her with so much artistic inspiration.
Activities for Teachers
Teachers seeking activities to teach students about Georgia O'Keefe can check out the "Lesson Planet" website, a lesson-plan search engine for teachers. There are numerous activities listed, including a high-school lesson in which students examine some of O'Keefe's flower paintings and then observe flowers as they appear in nature before creating their own pastel paintings of flowers. Another high-school-level activity involves students viewing examples of O'Keefe's work and then creating their own 6-inch by 6-inch painting of a 2-inch square cut from a magazine.
