- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
28 reviews for Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Here is another must-see in Santa Fe if you are an art lover. How can you skip this museum unless you absolutely don't like her style or art in general?
The museum is rather small and there seemed to be very little thing to reflect her life and what shaped her to be who she is today. There were her art pieces hanging here and there, but I wish to learn more on her personal story... that's what intrigues me the most.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
This review hardly resembles my opinion of Georgia O'Keeffe's work, but instead reflects the poor customer service we received while visiting the museum.
We got to the gift shop 10 minutes before closing and began looking around. At the stroke of 5pm, the lady who worked at the shop was barking at everyone to leave the store. We were already in the shop, waiting in line, and she looked like she wanted to murder us for trying to buy books at the last minute. It must be comfortable living in Santa Fe if she feels stressed to leave her gift shop job at 5 on the nose.
Then, as we were walking out and paused to glance at something, she had the audacity to say it was a "security issue" and we needed to get out immediately. Total and utter horseshit. I left the gift shop just to be hit on by the very unconcerned security guards.
We'd originally planned to come back the next day, but because of the lousy treatment, we skipped it.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
I really enjoyed this museum. Right now they have work from O'Keeffe that spans from the early 1900's - 1970's. From what I understand the work on display changes a few times a year. So it's not huge, but I thought it was just the right size for one artist. There is also a screening room that plays a film about O'Keeffe's life, work and philosophies on both.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (2)
The Georgia O'Keefe Museum was in my "Top 3" for places we visited while in New Mexico.
It's not very big but I think it's a decent collection of her work. Be sure to catch the 12-minute movie of her life. You will learn that not all her artwork was large scale close-ups of flowers and, in fact, she hated that they were considered sensual.
If you go on a Saturday, it's busy, so bring your patience. And plan to spend some time in the gift shop. Who doesn't enjoy a postcard with Georgia O'Keeffe art on it? Hopefully, no one in my immediate family.
Admission is $8 for an out-of-state adult. The Museum does not have a parking lot.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Cool (3)
This is one of the few museums to which I'll give three stars because I was really a bit disappointed with their collection.
I am a huge fan of O'Keeffe. I admire her modernist, American perspective on life, and her motivations behind her works. The idea of taking something as simple and delicate as a flower and blowing it up onto a massive canvas where you're forced to take a close look is rather creative, and breaks from the norm of simply depicting what you see on canvas while maintaining normal size proportions.
I came to the museum with high expectations and a desire to see some of her most famous works. Yet I suppose like artifacts from third-world nations going to the museums of first-world ones, O'Keeffe, too, is victim to the trend of taking prized works out of their original contexts.
Still, the museum does have a lot of her early works, and the short biographical video that plays in the museum is very informative. It's got an excellent location in central Santa Fe and admission prices are very reasonable.
Despite my average rating, I would definitely check out the museum, even if you're not an art lover. It's small, so it's manageable and you won't get bored. It is a gem of Santa Fe, but I suppose I held much higher expectations in regards to their collections.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
Nice space with some cool O'Keeffe works, some of her husband's, Alfred Stieglitz, and a few Ansel Adams photos. Not the greatest collection of her work, although it must be hard to share with museums around the world that have more clout (like the various MOMAs and the NGA.) Still, it was a nice way to spend some time while hanging out in downtown Santa Fe. I especially enjoyed the documentary about O'Keeffe's journey and time spent in the Santa Fe area. The 5-8 free hour on Friday also was a huge incentive.
But above all, the most fun and memorable thing about our museum experience was the battle of docents. Our first docent was a senior southern belle, very animated but a bit nervous at first. Then she got into a groove and enjoyed explaining the art and life and times of Ms. O'Keeffe as we meandered through the rooms. She was very casual and encouraged the group to feel free to wander off and take some time to float in and out at our own pace as she lectured.
Then, after entering the third room of works, another docent stepped in and after a few confused looks between them, they announced they were "sharing" the guided tour, and the second docent would take over as the first looked on. The second docent was a bit more intense and expected a more focused audience, and addressed the group: "Excuse me, who is in the group I'm speaking to? Where are you?" as she took a headcount of all of us.
As serious docent began, she seemed fairly confident but then began every sentence (while glaring at southern docent) "I'm sure (docent number 1) mentioned Georgia's passion for Japanese art" Or, "(Docent number 1) must have told you about Georgia's fascination with music." Docent number 1 promptly responded to docent number 2 with, "No, actually, I didn't mention it, but it's wonderful you bring it up and educate everyone with your knowledge."
As docent number 1 wandered around, docent number 2 tried to herd the group with her voice inflection, louder and more strained when the group had scattered. When they were not trying to finish each other's sentences, they stared at one another with a patronizing tight-lipped smile, constant nod, and an expression that read "I could outdo your performance while gagged with a paintbrush speaking to a deaf-mute audience." The tension was awesome, and as subtle as the vaginal images in O'Keeffe's flower paintings.
Art and drama all wrapped into one. Looooove it.
People thought this was:
- Funny (1)
They wouldn't let me in.
The lady was snotty.
I cried. :(
Call ahead. They expect you to look at the website-but they forget that not everyone has access to a computer all the time.
People thought this was:
- Useful (6)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
Small with not a lot of a great work IMHO. I expected better work but the mere fact that her masterpieces are located in some of the greatest museums in the world could be the issue. I liked her watercolor figure studies a lot and the docents and security were really nice. There was a great video of her work and and they had a nice lecture about her life in Santa Fe.
Overall it was not my favorite place but it was nice to take the group f kids there for an hour.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
After a few hours on the plaza, I decided that I needed some AC, and headed to the O'Keefe Museum, thoroughly excited that one of my favorite artists, Ansel Adams, was also being featured in a joint exhibition "Natural Affinities".
The space itself is a nice gallery, considering it's size. The halls are long and narrow, and the walls were painted a color reminiscent of the orangy-pink of the modern adobe buildings.
I expected THE Georgia O'Keefe museum to have more meat - more about the artists and her inspirations and her life. Perhaps I would have gotten that from the audio guide.
I was somewhat disappointed in the exhibit. Since the poster ad showed the O'Keefe painting and the Ansel Adams picture of the same adobe church, I was expecting more of a side by side comparison that demonstrated how the artists were friends and shared "natural affinities." However, with the exception of one room - the one with the works concerning the church in the ad, each room featured only one artist or the other. I'd seen an O'Keefe exhibit at the High in Atlanta earlier this year, and an Ansel Adams exhibit at the High the previous year, so it really wasn't anything new. Additionally, the documentary showed where the artists shared other similar subjects through other works that weren't exhibited.
Go, but don't get your hopes up - it's not the O'Keefe Mecca - just another nice gallery with works of a better known artist.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
Knowing practically nothing about Georgia O'Keeffe we felt this museum was an essential stop when in Santa Fe. I still think it was.
The museum really gives insight into her as a woman, revolutionary, image controller/brander, and artist. The works were further insight, even if they were not perhaps the most famous. The coolest part was seeing pictures of her homes/studios with paintings in them right next to the actual painting.
The size of the museum was nearly perfect-- it took us about an hour total to go through it. We felt we got the right amount of information-- not too much, and not too little.
I'd recommend a visit here when in Santa Fe, especially if you want to learn more about this landmark and revolutionary artist.
For some reason we found ourselves on our last day in Santa Fe wandering around sans street map. Good plan. Not.
The GOK Museum is a little off the main streets on Johnson, so be sure to plan your route before you go. As you've probably gleaned from any of the reviews of the city, parking is your basic nightmare, so get some change from anywhere and feed your meter well, since you probably won't be able to park within a mile of the actual Museum.
We paid $8 each to get into the place, and had 2 general thoughts:
1) It's a really unusual collection; they have very few of what most people know O'Keeffe's work for, the flowers. The collection really focuses more on her still lifes (still lives?,) charcoal drawings and other works, which is really interesting, refreshing and unexpected.
2) It's a really limited collection. We were in and out of there in about 40 minutes including the video on her life which runs about 12. Sad, but true. Also, I tend to agree with Seong that it was very oddly organized and didn't seem to flow very well.
Regardless, I feel like I have a lot more knowledge of O'Keeffe and the great range of work she did throughout her life and the true breadth of her talent.
P.S. After posting, I almost went back and edited my review thinking I'd misspelled her name (it was listed as O'Keefe.) I Googled the Museum, and it is in fact "O'Keeffe." I'll now update the business info.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Cool (1)
A great museum dedicated to a remarkable artist. It is smaller than I expected, and I agree that the special collection space (which was Marsden Hartley when I was there) overshadowed O'Keeffe's work. I liked Hartley's work, it just wasn't what I was there to see.
The 12 minute movie is worth making time for, and the Steiglitz photos of O'Keeffe are stunning.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
I'm torn here. I loved this museum but had an awful experience at the gift shop.
Museum - totally worth the visit. It's the perfect size, has the perfect amount of information to get a good feel for what Georgia O'Keefe's life was like and of course filled with amazing art.
The gift store, however, is another story. Background: I visited the museum while on a road trip across the country. A mini project I had going on during the road trip was collecting stickers from places I visited to put on a Nalgene bottle... making a nice travel Nalgene to remember my trip. Well, the museum store wasn't selling any stickers... but when I saw the museum gift shop attendant getting some stickers out of a drawer on the other side of the shop, I asked the cashier (as I was checking out and paying for a mug) if I could have one of those. He asked the woman and she said - they're not for sale. So I said - but I'm willing to pay. She was putting them on art tube-things. They didn't really serve any purpose. Anyway, I kept asking her - c'mon lady it's important to me, can I just have a damn sticker. At that point she just started ignoring me. Bitch! The nice cashier guy said if he could, he would have given me one. I stood around afterward, fuming, wondering if I should find someone to complain to when I overheard her telling him that the main reason she didn't give me one was because she had just enough for the tubes she had, and if she had given me one, she would have had to walk her fat ass 5 feet back across to the other side of the store to get another one from the drawer.
So pissed. I didn't get her name but I hope she gets stabbed with a pencil at some point in the near future.
Oh, did I mention I loved the museum otherwise!
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
This is a small museum that packs in a lot of great O'Keeffe paintings, drawings, and biographical information. You might expect to see giant flowers and skulls, but if you watch the video and browse all the galleries you will discover there is much more to her work. I recommend watching the video before wandering through the galleries. This is a great way to spend an hour or two and increase your appriciation for an American pioneer. If you are visiting Santa Fe, it's a must-see
People thought this was:
- Cool (1)
I knew a little about Gergia O'Keeffe before this and I must say, I really enjoyed the museum. Her work is fantastic and the history is amazing. Check it out.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
If you only visit one museum or gallery in Santa Fe, make it the Georgia O'Keeffe museum. Her work truly embodies the southwestern vibe I felt all throughout my journeys in Taos and Santa Fe. The current exhibit is absolutely stunning, a combination of two of my favorite artists O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams. I could return day after day and stare her art and his juxtaposed in such a perfect setting. The short movie about her life was worth taking the time to watch, and gave some great little known facts about her earlier years. Two remarkable artists- and one great little museum that really packed the punch.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
I'm not a big fan, but I think that this was an excellent display, lovely museum.
I can only look at dusty pinks and browns for so long. I don't like cattle bones or desert flowers. It's wasted on me.
That said, I'm glad I went here, there were brighter, different works there-- other than the ones I've always associated with GOK. We spent an hour here, that was plenty for me!
Most of the southwest seems to be inhabited by old people which went with the mellow attitude I saw everywhere. Santa Fe was no exception. It seemed very quaint and not at all like a metropolitan city.
My old roommate was a lover of Georgia O'Keefe's painting so we made sure to stop at the museum. It was an experience to see Georgia O'Keefe's work in person. I don't know about how art should be organized so I didn't notice anything lacking. Just seeing the paintings was enough for me and I'm glad I went.
I've been a lover of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings for a long time, and was excited to see the museum on my brief trip to Santa Fe a few weeks ago. [My brother and I went out west to see a few Phil Lesh & Friends shows... hippie music at night, art galleries and museums by day. That's how we roll when we travel together.]
I really enjoyed some of the work in the Women of the Stieglitz Circle exhibition that's going on right now. There was a Pamela Colman Smith that I loved so much that apparently, my nose almost touched it and the guard pulled me back and told me I almost set off the museum alarms. (Pamela Colman Smith is the designer of the tarot card deck I've been using for about 10 years... http://en.wikipedia.or... - an odd fact I didn't know until I visited the museum.) The one I really liked was called Sea Creatures. I wish I'd purchased a print of it.
There were also some really amazing photographs - I found Anne Brigman's black and whites really haunting, and I lingered over them for a long time.
It was great to see so many O'Keeffes in person - I have to admit, when I saw Oriental Poppies, I nearly cried - it's always been my favorite.
The video about O'Keeffe's life was really interesting - I had no idea that it upset and humiliated her to have her floral paintings compared to vaginas. Did you? Apparently, after her husband Stieglitz completed and exhibited a series of phographs of her, critics started looking at her and her work as sexually provocative. It broke her little heart.
This isn't the best museum I've ever been to, but it was definitely worth it for me. I'm really glad I went.
Great musuem dedicated to not a more deserving artist. When I went they had a photo exhibition up showing O'Keefe around her home, Ghost Ranch, in her everyday life, etc. That did it for me. I love seeing artists in their element like that.
Great little movie they show there if you are not familiar with her.
we were fortunate to be in santa fe for the breakfast with o'keeffe series (happens first monday of the month). for $8 - you get continental breakfast, entrance to the museum and the special guest / gallery talk. the special guest was Valerie Martínez, City of Santa Fe Poet Laureate, 2008-2010. her poet was interesting and the people we met were also interesting as well.
as for the gallery - it is small, but well informative. the current exhibit, Georgia O'Keeffe and the Camera - The Art of Identity, was more of her pictures that were taken by others... i would have loved to have seen more of her paintings instead...
but overall, well worth the visit for sure.
What a remarkable woman. So inspired by this landscape and I am sure, the landscape has been changed by her living here. I was so happy to hear that she loved, and was loved, during her life. It is so apparent by her work that she had been touched by a man's love. The photographs of her, taken by her husband, depicted a woman who was whimsical and passionate.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Funny (1)
- Cool (1)
A nice space and a good, but not a great museum. But she is a remarkable woman and artist and any venue that celebrates her work (especially like this) is worth the trip. I got a good history lesson and saw a good representation of her work, but somehow I was expecting more. A more interesting option would be to drive up to the Ghost Ranch and get a better feel for the land and culture that influenced her work.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
Definitely worth going to just because her paintings should be seen in the flesh. But the collection is badly organized and there was an absolutely laughable O'Keefe/Warhol flowers show up that really brought home that curation is an art. The bookshop has some great books and postcards and there's a 12 minute video of her life which is worth watching.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
i have been an admirer of georgia o'keeffe since i did a report on her life in the sixth grade. i love her work and i love her story.
the museum is beautiful and quaint, with only one small gallery dedicated to her work. therein lies my disappointment. having a small collection is one thing, but the grand size of the temporary collection gallery surely overshadows her pieces on permanent display. there was a marsden hartley exhibit when i visited, which was vast and distracting. i'm not a fan of hartley, but i felt the layout of the museum lent itself to promoting that exhibit rather than the work of the fine lady it was named for.
i adored the stieglitz photographs of her - definitely the most moving pieces in the whole museum, in my opinion.
all complaints aside, if you're going to santa fe, going to the o'keeffe museum is a must.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
An incredible collection. In addition to her paintings, the exhibit includes photos by her husband Stieglitz, and many of her drawings.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
- Cool (1)
Good to see some of her different works, but I agree with Megan I'm not a huge fan of the dusty pinks and browns. I enjoyed seeing some of her work that was painted with bright bold colors. The gift shop is tiny. The other exhibit by some other artist was weird. Large pieces of wood with pink painted leaves screwed on the wall and a line of gold animal skulls. I don't get it?
the largest collection of o'keefe paintings i've seen...a great find!