Georgia O'Keeffe: Works on Paper

While O'Keeffe's oil canvases of New Mexico deserts creak with sun-bleached skulls and pelvic bones, the watercolors, pastels and charcoals which she did throughout her life present a far more cheerful world. In sensitive arrangements of lines, colorful shapes and spaces, she invented a personal vocabulary. Some of these works on paper were done as she walked the Texas plains to draw and paint directly from nature. Others were produced after she moved to New York to live with Alfred Stieglitz; still others come from her late years in the Southwest, when she created organic, self-contained forms that seem to unfold within their own universe. All of the pictures display spontaneity and a light touch. This volume, which catalogues an exhibition at the Museum of New Mexico, includes some 30 full-page color reproductions and numerous duotones and photos. Along with her early, fumbling color experiments and unsure urban landscapes, there are strong examples of O'Keeffe at her best. A delightful album. October 31