The White Place in Sun

1943

Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887–1986)

Georgia O’Keeffe often painted the dramatic geological formation known as the White Place, or Plaza Blanca, which she could see from a window in her home near Abiquiu, New Mexico. Composed of a white stone that stands out starkly against the colors of the surrounding terrain, the White Place was whittled and smoothed by water and wind over centuries into a striking formation resembling columns, cliffs, and towers. Here, O’Keeffe selected a view that emphasizes a deep cleft between two spires. The V-shaped composition accentuates the interplay between the brilliant blue sky, the eerie white color, and the horizontal striations of the rock.

Status: On View, Gallery 265
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe
Title: The White Place in Sun
Place: Abiquiu (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1943
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Paul and Gabriella Rosenbaum
Reference Number: 2002.73
Copyright: © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Barbara Buhler Lynes, Georgia O’Keeffe: Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 2 (Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; Abiquiu, NM: Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), no. 1063.

New York, An American Place, Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings – 1942–1943, Mar. 27–May 22, 1943, checklist only, no. 6.

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), New York and New Mexico, 1943 [O’Keeffe moved permanently to New Mexico in 1949]; sold to Paul (1897–1982) and Gabriella Rosenbaum (born Gabriella Kramer, 1905–2000), Chicago and Palm Springs, FL, 1969; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2002.

Lynes 1999 1063

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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