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Cincinnati Art Museum acquires Georgia O’Keeffe painting
(Friday, May 24—Cincinnati, OH)
The Cincinnati Art Museum has acquired its first Georgia O’Keeffe painting. The Art Museum purchased “My Back Yard” at Christie’s Auction House in New York Thursday morning. O’Keeffe (1887-1986), the celebrated American modernist, painted “My Back Yard” in 1943 from her Ghost Ranch home in Abiquiu, about six years after moving to New Mexico. The 18- by 24- inch oil on canvas depicts the Southwest landscape she loved so well, showing rugged cliffs and mesas in earthy red and yellow colors.
“One of the things I like about the painting’s history is that O’Keeffe gave it to her sister, Claudia. That suggests to you the personal importance that the painting had to her,” said Julie Aronson, the Art Museum’s Curator of American Painting, Sculpture and Drawings.
“While she’s depicting an actual place, at the same time it’s quite abstract,” Aronson said. “I love the contrast between the greens and the rich warm apricot color. She gets that lyrical, sensual modulation in the cliffs, but the sky is a flat blue color.”
The Art Museum learned just three weeks ago that the painting would go up for auction, said Aronson, who had Director Aaron Betsky and a conservator view it in New York . “It’s in beautiful condition,” she said. The staff anticipates that the new acquisition will be on display in Cincinnati in several months. The Art Museum paid $1.5 million plus buyer’s costs for the work, and the acquisition was paid for through endowment funds restricted for art purchase.
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About the Cincinnati Art Museum
Hours of operation are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Art Museum is closed on Mondays. The Art Museum is FREE, EVERYDAY! The Art Museum is located at 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202. For general information, call (513) 639-2995 or visit www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org.
The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to the Arts Wave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as our members.