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A review by robyn_m
Georgia O'Keeffe and Her Houses: Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu: Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu by Agapita Lopez, Barbara Buhler Lynes
5.0
A beautiful book detailing the lives of both houses as living and changing structures, but also as homes to Georgia O’Keeffe. Photographs are plentiful, from the early days to the contemporary, and include images by Ansel Adams, Cecil Beaton, and others. Quotes by O’Keeffe, sourced often from correspondence, as well as reproductions of relevant paintings are included throughout. An opening essay introduces O’Keeffe’s path to New Mexico, and is followed by four pages explaining adobe construction and architectural details.
In 2016, I toured the Abiquiu house, and hiked nearby Plaza Blanca (the White Place), and found this book a lovely recollection of the visit. While the Ghost Ranch house is not open to the public, the Ghost Ranch retreat and education center is accessible. Since I was in the area, I stopped to inquire about hikes on the property, and very much enjoyed the hike to Chimney Rock… until a thunderstorm hastened our descent!
- - -
page 8:
"She had first seen and fallen in love with northern New Mexico in 1917, when she spent several days in Santa Fe. As she later wrote: From now on, I was always trying to get back there… and in 1929 I finally made it.”
page 223:
“I am living in the house that was being built when I saw you last — and inch by inch it is becoming — my house — something that feels like my shell to live in…”
But it wasn’t until 1949 that the Abiquiu house renovation was completed and O’Keeffe fully embraced New Mexico. (Husband Alfred Stieglitz, who resided in New York, passed away in 1946.)
page 248:
“After living on the crowded, luxuriant East Coast for many years, the Ghost Ranch house provided the isolation she craved and an intimate relationship with some of the most dramatic landscape configurations in the Southwest. In contrast, the Abiquiu house made it possible for her to live part of the year, especially the winters, more comfortably and in a less severe environment, which among other things permitted her to grow her own food. If nothing else, the interiors of these two houses, which are characterized by the uncluttered spaces and simple furnishings O’Keeffe demanded, demonstrate how her life in New Mexico was itself a component of the minimalist aesthetic that is one of the distinguishing features of her art."
- - -
+ Generally speaking, the Abiquiu house was the fall / winter residence, and the Ghost Ranch house was for spring / summer.
+ Few buildings now built in the “adobe style” are actually made of adobe due to high labor costs / continual maintenance.
+ Jimson weed (datura plant) as painting subject. Cloud paintings inspired by airplane travel above the clouds. The Door.
+ O’Keeffe’s first trip to Asia was in 1959. Affinity for Japanese gardens, tea, and Kakuzo Okakura's [b:The Book of Tea|904538|The Book of Tea|Kakuzō Okakura|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492192349s/904538.jpg|2340185]. She loved gardening and collecting natural items (rock, bone).
+ O’Keeffe gave eight Chow dogs (over time) only four names. (Repeated two pairs of names!)
+ The effort that Maria Chabot put into the Abiquiu house renovation was tremendous.
In 2016, I toured the Abiquiu house, and hiked nearby Plaza Blanca (the White Place), and found this book a lovely recollection of the visit. While the Ghost Ranch house is not open to the public, the Ghost Ranch retreat and education center is accessible. Since I was in the area, I stopped to inquire about hikes on the property, and very much enjoyed the hike to Chimney Rock… until a thunderstorm hastened our descent!
- - -
page 8:
"She had first seen and fallen in love with northern New Mexico in 1917, when she spent several days in Santa Fe. As she later wrote: From now on, I was always trying to get back there… and in 1929 I finally made it.”
page 223:
“I am living in the house that was being built when I saw you last — and inch by inch it is becoming — my house — something that feels like my shell to live in…”
But it wasn’t until 1949 that the Abiquiu house renovation was completed and O’Keeffe fully embraced New Mexico. (Husband Alfred Stieglitz, who resided in New York, passed away in 1946.)
page 248:
“After living on the crowded, luxuriant East Coast for many years, the Ghost Ranch house provided the isolation she craved and an intimate relationship with some of the most dramatic landscape configurations in the Southwest. In contrast, the Abiquiu house made it possible for her to live part of the year, especially the winters, more comfortably and in a less severe environment, which among other things permitted her to grow her own food. If nothing else, the interiors of these two houses, which are characterized by the uncluttered spaces and simple furnishings O’Keeffe demanded, demonstrate how her life in New Mexico was itself a component of the minimalist aesthetic that is one of the distinguishing features of her art."
- - -
+ Generally speaking, the Abiquiu house was the fall / winter residence, and the Ghost Ranch house was for spring / summer.
+ Few buildings now built in the “adobe style” are actually made of adobe due to high labor costs / continual maintenance.
+ Jimson weed (datura plant) as painting subject. Cloud paintings inspired by airplane travel above the clouds. The Door.
+ O’Keeffe’s first trip to Asia was in 1959. Affinity for Japanese gardens, tea, and Kakuzo Okakura's [b:The Book of Tea|904538|The Book of Tea|Kakuzō Okakura|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492192349s/904538.jpg|2340185]. She loved gardening and collecting natural items (rock, bone).
+ O’Keeffe gave eight Chow dogs (over time) only four names. (Repeated two pairs of names!)
+ The effort that Maria Chabot put into the Abiquiu house renovation was tremendous.