The lure of Georgia O’Keeffe is strong. Being admirers of her life and art for many years, to visit her home and studio, to be in the area which inspired her so much, was definitely a huge bucket list item for both of us.
Naturally, we first toured her museum in Santa Fe, and they also manage the tours of her home in the village of Abiquiu as well. The museum in Santa Fe has an excellent collection and also includes details of those in her life, such as Stieglitz and Adams, and her close friends that were with her in her Abiquiu homes.
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| remember this doorway... |
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| her paints and tools |
We signed up for a walk through of her home, and it was a real treat. The home is pretty much as it was when she passed away in 1986, at age 98. It was clear by her home that she led a simple existence, focussed on the enjoyment of her surroundings, and the art that came from it.
As we walked around it, we made an effort to pause from time to time, to absorb what we were seeing, the same as she would see daily, and relate it to what we know of her work. It really was a wonderful experience.
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| Georgia loved this doorway, and it inspired many of her pieces |
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| her studio window |
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| the views out her studio window |
After the tour, we took a run up to Ghost Ranch, her summer home north of Abiquiu, where the scenery is more dramatic and awe-inspiring. After she passed away, Ghost Ranch has been owned and managed by the Presbyterian Church, which they use as a retreat offering a variety of programming related to church activities, camping and hiking, and tours of the grounds focussed on O’Keefe’s life and work. There are no tours of her Ghost Ranch home, but the attraction of going to Ghost Ranch was seeing the dramatic landscape around it which she painted. Casting your eyes on the hills and rocks around you, you can’t help but see images of O’Keefe’s art come to life.
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| on the road to Ghost Ranch |
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| O'Keefe specifically requested her ashes be scattered here, at "The Padernal" |
There are nine hiking trails around the Ghost Ranch property, that had we known ahead we would have added on time to do at least one. Oh well, another reason to make a trip back here at some point.
The visit here was yet another treat.
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