Winsor & Newton in collaboration with the Museo National Thyssen-Bornemisza: Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Mesa
Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico / Out Back of Marie’s II, 1930 Oil on canvas mounted on board, 24 1/4 × 35 1/4 in, 61.6 × 89.5 cm; Image courtesy of The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico / Out Back of Marie’s II, 1930 Oil on canvas mounted on board, 24 1/4 × 35 1/4 in, 61.6 × 89.5 cm; Image courtesy of The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

Introducing our exciting partnership with the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid to mark the first retrospective in Spain on Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986).

Watch our interview with curators Marta Ruiz del Arbol and Clara Marcellán Fernández, as well as Dale Kronkright, Head Conservationist at The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) is known as the ‘Mother of American Modernism’; her paintings of magnified flowers, animal bones, and New Mexico desert landscapes are outstanding not only for the fact they show she was such an accomplished painter but also for what they reveal about her search for abstraction in natural forms.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Our archive items on loan to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum for the exhibition ‘Georgia O’Keeffe’

 

Georgia O’Keeffe frequently worked in watercolour, using Winsor & Newton, until 1919 when she transitioned to oils. As an artist in remote New Mexico, it may seem unusual for her to have sourced Winsor & Newton, but our art materials were so well regarded that they were even available at her local Santa Fe stationers, where she bought art materials.

We were delighted to loan items from our extensive archive to the Thyssen-Bornemisza for the duration of the exhibition to help recreate her studio and allow visitors to learn about Georgia O’Keeffe’s materials and techniques. Items loaned included various historically accurate paint tubes and small items that mirror what she had in her studio.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s

Image of Georgia O’Keeffe’s watercolour palette of Winsor & Newton colours, Image courtesy of The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Image credit Jonathan Tercero

 

We spoke with the curators from the Thyssen-Bornemisza about their vision for the exhibition, and to the Head Conservationist from The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum about the materials preserved in her studio and home in New Mexico. Watch the video below to hear how she valued Winsor & Newton materials and learn about her palette and techniques.

 

 

Find out more about the exhibition here.