The tempestuous love story of artists Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz is relatively well known, made famous by books such as “My Faraway One, Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz: Volume I 1915-1933” (edited by Sarah Greenough). The struggles and triumphs of the couple have captivated the attention of audiences from their contemporaries to modern scholars and casual observers alike. However, it could be argued that O’Keeffe’s greatest love was her passion for New Mexico, especially Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, and the surrounding landscape. 

The passion and precision with which she painted her desert surroundings are matched by her poetic descriptions to Charles Wickham Moore, in letters kept as part of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum collections. In the letters, appropriately written shortly before Valentine’s Day, she describes her love of life in the Southwest. In 1960, she writes “I am fine and to my eye the world here is wonderful – ”. Ten years later, despite a frustrating week-long stay in the hospital after a trip to Mexico City, she writes “Today looks like one of our perfect winter days – clear warm sun – cold wind.” 

By Elisabeth Kane