Going global: 'Around the World with O'Keeffe' showcases the artist's love of travel
Aug. 22—"I must speak to you this morning ... such things I have seen out the window I have never dreamed — this is more like my dreams than anything I have ever seen." — Georgia O'Keeffe
In 1983, Georgia O'Keeffe traveled to Costa Rica at the age of 96.
The artist visited more than 49 countries across her lifetime.
As she traveled the globe, she brought back tea sets, matchbooks and kimonos to her Abiquiú home.
"Around the World with O'Keeffe," an exhibition at Abiquiú's Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Welcome Center, traces her travels through a range of objects she gathered and returned to her closet, pantry and home. Located down a slope from O'Keeffe's home and studio, the O'Keeffe Welcome Center is the starting point for tours of her house.
The artist traveled by train, boat and finally by airplane, charting an axis of exploration during the mid-20th century. The experiences impacted both her life, her home design and her work.
"O'Keeffe was a consummate traveler," said Giustina Renzoni, curator of the museum's historic properties. "She started traveling internationally in the 1930s."
A 1984 photograph by O'Keeffe companion Juan Hamilton shows the artist straddling a camel in Morocco.
From informational pamphlets to cooking ingredients to design ideas for her home and garden, the items reflect what she chose to keep as mementos of her travels, either to be shared as part of her home, or tucked away for her own viewing and recollections.
Many of the keepsakes hail from Japan, including multiple kimonos.
"We have a silk kimono that has a hand-painted image of Mount Fuji on the back," Renzoni said. "It was a memento she kept in her closet. She did purchase multiple cotton kimonos she wore."
Curators discovered a large bolt of Japanese fabric the artist had stitched into a skirt and blouse. It was cotton printed in a geometric pattern.
"She took a Japanese textile and made a very Western style outfit," Renzoni said.
O'Keeffe also brought home a selection of ceramics, including a Japanese tea set with a guide to Tokyo.
"When she came back, she really enjoyed the ritual of tea," Renzoni said. "Tea was an important part of her day and was an important part of her entertaining. She would drink tea all day."
Each time she traveled, the artist boxed her brochures and business cards when she returned, all labeled with the associated country.
Bonzai-style shrubs in juniper and sage still grow in her garden.
"Japan played a major role in the development of her personal style as an artist," Renzoni said. "She had many books on (Japanese) art, design and philosophy.
"I think it was the simplicity and the minimalism that really caught her attention," Renzoni continued. "It really shifted her focus as an artist."
The exhibit also features a large selection of hand fans from Spain, Japan, India and Fiji. Her keepsakes from mid-century airlines included a miniature salt and pepper set from Braniff and a silk kerchief from Swiss Air. The show also includes her monogrammed flight bag and her travel clock with its leather case.
"She said she wanted to travel to make sure she was in the right place," Renzoni said. "As much as she loved traveling, she was always glad to be back in Abiquiú."
