AFA 18th Anniversary

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 133 Installation view at the Brooklyn Museum. Photo by Jonathan Dorado. Courtesy Brooklyn Museum. above left Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), In the Patio IX, ca. 1964. Oil on canvas mounted on panel. The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection; Promised gift to The Vilcek Foundation (2012.05.01). Courtesy Brooklyn Museum. © 2017 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. above center Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), Glen Canyon, ca. 1964. Polaroids. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, N.Mex.; Gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation (2006.6.1084; 2006.6.1086; 2006.6.1092). Courtesy Brooklyn Museum. © 2017 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Emilio Pucci (1913–1992), “Chute” dress, ca. 1954. Black and white cotton. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, N.Mex.; Gift of Juan and Anna Marie Hamilton (2000.03.0614). Photo © Gavin Ashworth. The ‘V’ shape was prominent in O’Keeffe’s aesthetic. It occurs here in this abstract painting inspired by her beloved patio at Abiquiu. Her attraction to this simple geometric shape is also evident in the adjacent series of Polaroids she took at Glen Canyon while on a rafting trip on the Colorado River in 1961. She was captivated by the natural V created by the dark rock formations against the bright sky, and took a series of pictures capturing that slice of landscape under different light conditions. O’Keeffe’s 1954 “Chute” dress was one of the first Pucci dresses to be sold in the American market, testifying to O’Keeffe’s interest in and awareness of contemporary fashion. It was also a dress that featured pure geometric forms at a time when O’Keeffe was returning to abstraction in paintings. The waistless dress flared like a “chute” (or parachute), with the black shapes pieced together to extend without interruption from the shoulders to the hem. The design incorporates O’Keeffe’s signature V-neckline and convenient side pockets, a feature she invariably incorporated in her dresses. When this garment was catalogued, hankies were found in its pockets and pin marks at the V-neck, suggesting she wore it with her Calder or Navajo button pins.