The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe this week announced the newest addition to its permanent collection, Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1928 oil painting, Ritz Tower. Created during her rise to art world stardom, the work captures the iconic building at night. The slender painting is one of O’Keeffe’s rare depictions of skyscrapers in New York City and it will go on public display, beginning March 1.

“This is a painting as dazzling as the modern city itself,” says Ariel Plotek, Curator of Fine Art for the O’Keeffe Museum. Throughout the 1920s, Georgia O’Keeffe lived in New York with her husband, photographer and art impresario Alfred Stieglitz. The couple was at the center of the city’s cultural scene, with O’Keeffe’s exhibitions receiving critical acclaim. Some of her peers initially discouraged her from painting urban subjects. Later in life, O’Keeffe recalled, “The men decided they didn’t want me to paint New York . . . They told me to ‘leave New York to the men.’ I was furious!” One of the most striking examples of her rebuttals is Ritz Tower.

“It is a dynamic, glamourous portrayal,” says Plotek. “O’Keeffe effectively rendered the spirit of the city by making it a night scene teeming with energy. She used the bright punches of electric light, the soaring architecture, and the glow of the moon to great effect.”

The Museum acquired the painting through the Owings Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico [from a private collection; sold for an undisclosed amount].

“We’re thrilled to have this important painting at the O’Keeffe,” says Plotek. “It helps us tell a critical part of O’Keeffe’s story: art darling of the ‘Roaring Twenties.’ We know our visitors will love Ritz Tower as much as we do.”

Ritz Tower will be on view in the Museum’s galleries, beginning on March 1, 2019. A special Museum members-only preview event celebrating Ritz Tower will take place at the Museum on Thursday, February 28, 2019. For more details about membership, click here:
https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/store/products/connect/membership/