Mid-Century Santa Fe Celebrates the Bond Between Georgia O’Keeffe and the Girards

May 24th, 2019

(Santa Fe, NM)—Three untitled Georgia O’Keeffe originals once hung on the walls of the Italian Villa scene in Multiple Visions: A Common Bond at the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA). The floral depictions, graphite and watercolor on paper, signify the long-standing friendship between O’Keeffe and Alexander and Susan Girard. The Mid-Century Santa Fe collaboration celebrates this friendship by hosting a series of activities and programs throughout the summer.

Both the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and MOIFA house correspondence between the Girard family and O’Keeffe, detailing their folk art trips around the world and discussing various exhibitions on view in the United States. The three floral images, each no bigger than 5” x 7” photographs, mark a unique departure from their notes and correspondence stored in each museum’s archives.

The first piece, a sketch, depicts a bleeding heart flower. The two watercolors show an arrangement of four bouquets and a yellow crocus. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum former curator Barbara Buhler Lynes confirmed the pieces to be O’Keeffe originals while inventorying works for a catalogue raisonne. For conservation purposes, the pieces now reside in MOIFA’s collection storage. Museum visitors today will see reproductions of the O’Keeffe miniatures on view, recently replaced in the Italian Villa scene during the cleaning and restoration work done in the Girard Wing in early 2019. Their presence in the Girards’ folk art collection exhibition speaks to the significance of the friendship between O’Keeffe and the Girards.

Programs hosted by MOIFA and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum highlight the icons’ shared appreciation for the world’s varied artistry, or as O’Keeffe noted on a slip of paper preserved within the Girards’ archives—“A big world full of wonderful little things.”

Arts Alive! presents the Girard-inspired wooden dolls project

Location: The Museum of International Folk Art

Date: Friday, June 14 and Friday, June 21, 2019

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

This event is family friendly and free with museum admission

 

Lecture by Todd Oldham on Alexander Girard

Location: Museum of International Folk Art

Date: Sunday, July 28

Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Museum guests may reserve tickets for this event. Please contact Kathryn Risley at Kathryn.Risley@state.nm.us, to confirm attendance as space is limited.

 

Breakfast with O’Keeffe: Girard’s World, a talk presented by Khristaan Villela, Ph.D.

Location: The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

This event is free with museum admission

 

The O’Keeffe Family Program presents the Girard-inspired wooden dolls project

Location: The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

Date: Saturday, August 17, 2019

Time: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

This event is family friendly and free with museum admission

 

In addition to scheduled summer events and exhibitions at MOIFA, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) celebrates fellow Mid-Century Modern master, Lloyd Kiva New’s (Cherokee) legacy through exhibitions. Action/Abstraction Redefined, on view at MoCNA until July 7, 2019, highlights New’s accent in the fashion world as he amassed America’s elite as clientele. Art for a New Understanding: Native Perspectives, 1950 to Now, on view until July 19, 2019, continues the conversation around New’s impact on modern design. Visual Voices: Contemporary Chickasaw Art, takes a look at pioneering art and design processes, from August 15, 2019, to January 19, 2020.

This collaboration is sponsored by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission.