It’s a Sketch!

In my role as Research Center Associate and Library Technician at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum one of my primary responsibilities is to catalog the books in the Museum’s collection, including the 3,000+ books that Georgia O’Keeffe owned. As a cataloger, my aim is to record the details of each book so that it can be easily found in our catalog system. When I catalog O’Keeffe’s books I go through each book, magazine or pamphlet page-by-page because we are interested in recording not only the book’s information, such as publication information, edition number, subject, etc., but we are also interested in recording the uniqueness of each book, such as inscriptions, annotations, page markers, items found inside, etc. I have come across countless interesting items within the pages of O’Keeffe’s books including letters, photographs, flyers, and even a nail file. But, I certainly never anticipated finding a sketch!

I was going through the pages of Faust: a Tragedy by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe when I discovered a small 2” x 3” sketch that evokes the early abstractions O’Keeffe would have been thinking of at the time she received the book (1). Over the course of the next several months I got to relive that impossibly exciting moment of seeing an original sketch for the first time as different staff members came to see it. Each person would inevitably pull out a copy of the Catalogue Raisonne and compare the sketch to the artworks they thought it most closely reflected. The moment of finding the sketch, and the exciting reactions and conversations that ensued, were truly special experiences for me that I doubt I can fully describe. And, while I cannot describe in words what the “moment of discovery” felt like, I can, however, try my best to illuminate why cataloging Faust was one of the most interesting and special items I have cataloged yet.

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Faust is both an excellent, and unique, example of the range of treasures discovered on a daily basis while cataloging O’Keeffe’s books. Generally, each item seemingly has its’ own history. Indications of books being gifts and often-used books with annotations throughout, or items tucked inside, are almost always present. Faust is no exception, and is in fact, a well-documented early gift from Alfred Stieglitz, who would become Georgia O’Keeffe’s husband in 1924. Stieglitz sent her this copy of Faust in 1916 while she was living in west Texas and they were beginning their 30 year relationship. Stieglitz inscribed the book to O’Keeffe:

Faust / quieted me in such despairing / moments – always –

/ and as I grew it seemed to / also grow. – It is a Friend…

O’Keeffe did not hide her excitement in receiving the book when she wrote to Stieglitz on October 26, 1916:

“Yes there will be time to read it – When I want to I make time and I don’t think I ever wanted to read anything so much before – “(2).

References to Faust show up several times throughout their letters, and O’Keeffe even wrote about this gift to her friend, Anita Pollitzer. It was clearly a special book to her, which is made even more evident by the treasures found inside. Along with the sketch there was a note from Stieglitz that reads:

“1:45 / Gone to get / a cup of coffee / Then back / next door / A”.

There were also four pressed four leaf clovers found throughout the book that one can image O’Keeffe collected while she sat next to “a little stream” with Faust (3). These items, the sketch, Stieglitz’s inscription, and the letters surrounding the book, all collide to give a glimpse into a profound period of O’Keeffe’s personal and artistic life.

Suffice it to say, I used the phrase “I found a sketch!” more times in the weeks following the discovery than I thought I would say in my lifetime. I am beyond thrilled that the sketch, and the book it lived in, has made their way into the Museum galleries so that they can be shared with the public and situated amongst the works of art Georgia O’Keeffe created during that period in Texas.

1. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust: a Tragedy. Trans. Bayard Taylor, 1912-1913.
2. Georgia O’Keeffe to Alfred Stieglitz, October 26, 1916. Alfred Stieglitz/Georgia O’Keeffe Archive, Yale Collection of American Literature. Beinecke Rare Book and Maunscript Library.
3. Georgia O’Keeffe to Alfred Stieglitz, March 15, 1917. Alfred Stieglitz/Georgia O’Keeffe Archive, Yale Collection of American Literature. Beinecke Rare Book and Maunscript Library.

This post was written by Tori Duggan, Research Center Associate and Library Technician, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.