Barbara Buhler Lynes

It’s rare that I give perfect marks to an art book, but this volume which explores the collection of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum is one of the few that makes the grade. Being the penultimate gallery collecting the work of the prestigious American painter, the book has a head start in its potential presentation and it does not disappoint. Arranging O’Keeffe’s work in large swaths of subject matter, we are toured through her artistic themes in largely chronological order - admittedly show more with some room for non-linear narration when it makes sense to juxtapose early and later artwork for dramatic effect. While I personally prefer a more strict biographical style with the occasional year-jumping footnote to bring us back to recurring themes and motifs, getting to do a readily constructed deep dive into O’Keeffe’s major subjects ranging from abstract landscapes to macro florals made this book an extremely easy read. The book for all its volume does lack footnotes or anything more than a concise and limited bibliography, so it shies away from becoming a true reference work - something that I don’t feel was its ultimate goal, as to do so they would have also had to make a considered effort to get printing rights to the many O’Keeffe pieces scattered in galleries and collections worldwide - but we still get to sample a huge range of O’Keeffe’s work, and are more likely to want to visit her Museum after closing the covers on this book. Would I have liked to see an even greater range of O’Keeffe’s work? Of course. But, as long as I’m getting a solid range, with high quality printing and a simple (yet effective) presentation, as is contained herein, I’ll finish reading with satisfaction. show less

Fine coffee table book, from which I learned a great deal about life here in New Mexico during it's time with O'Keeffe. Pictures were many, varied and beautiful. A fun read.

Having just visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, we were searching for books related to her artwork. This book is unique because it helps readers see the connection between the artwork and the places that inspired the works. It's fascinating to compare the paintings with photographs of the locations.

O'Keeffe and Adams were contemporary modern American Artists. Both knew each other and were promoted by Steiglitz, O'Keeffe's husband. I enjoyed the book and it helped understand both.