“Exploring the Serene World of Georgia O’Keeffe: A Journey Through Her Creative Sanctuary”

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The photographer Todd Webb encountered Georgia O’Keeffe during the 1940s, at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery An American Place. O’Keeffe appreciated Webb and his artistry, and they forged a lifelong friendship. Partially upon O’Keeffe’s suggestion, Webb relocated to New Mexico in the early 1960s, frequently visiting O’Keeffe’s residence in Abiquiu, often bringing along his camera.

Webb’s photographs from those visits serve as a portal into the artist’s everyday existence. O’Keeffe donned hats to shield her face and scarves to guard her long, glossy hair; she remarked that you should never allow your hair to become sunburned. She sported crisp white collars that made whatever else she wore—black linen, blue denim—appear fashionable. O’Keeffe often prepared “Tiger’s Milk” for breakfast, a mixture of banana, skim milk, powdered milk, wheat germ, and brewer’s yeast, as suggested by nutritionist Adelle Davis. She owned a troupe of Chow dogs, whom she cherished for their loyalty and grace, and their striking beauty. Their fur was so plush that she had a shawl fashioned from their shedding. When her beloved dog, Bo, passed away, she laid him to rest at the White Place, her term for the pale, majestic hills near Abiquiu that appear in numerous paintings. Years later, she confided to Webb that she enjoyed reminiscing about Bo at night, still “running and leaping” through the hills.

Webb instructed O’Keeffe on how to utilize a camera. They captured images of one another positioned in the doorway of her residence in Abiquiu. She once remarked that she had acquired the house because she was captivated by that door, which she rendered in her artwork repeatedly, invariably vacant. The photographs are stark and abstract: It’s challenging to discover the enchantment in the blank black shapes. Yet O’Keeffe and Webb, each positioned alone in the frame, unveil the doorway’s otherworldly dimensions: It was too expansive for humans, too lofty for beasts, too narrow for carriages. For whom was it intended? The deities.

This article appears in the February 2025 print edition under the headline “O’Keeffe in the Frame.”