To continue our celebration of American Archives Month 2023, which happens every October, we are featuring content from newly processed collections from our archive each week. This year, we are spotlighting the Georgia O’Keeffe Papers (MS33), to celebrate the completion of processing and the publication of the finding aid after many years and several archivists.
Another subseries in this collection is the Abiquiu Notebooks, which are essentially documentation of O’Keeffe herself as an archivist. These notebooks are a comprehensive index of her works dating from 1914 through the 1970s, sorted by date, location, and subject, and include reference photographs. The notebooks also include the Alfred Stieglitz estate distribution, which took O’Keeffe 3 years to settle.
The Abiquiu Notebooks are O'Keeffe's own records of her artwork, originally compiled by Doris Bry, chief assistant, curator, exclusive dealer and, finally, executor of O'Keeffe's estate, in the 1950s. The Notebooks document titles, dimensions, owners, exhibition history, and more in the form of an individual factsheet for each work, and often include reference photographs to remove the ambiguity around paintings' identities. Additional business papers include exhibition records, especially ephemera and checklists, as well as papers from O'Keeffe's time working with Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery, such as receipts, correspondence, and lists.
These photos are examples of O’Keeffe works by creation date and the accompanying exhibition history. Paintings shown in order: Maple and Cedar, Lake George 1923; Pattern of Leaves, 1923; and Pink Moon and Blue Lines, 1923.
Abiquiu Notebooks, 1914-1980, Georgia O’Keeffe Papers, 1914-1991. MS-33. Gift of the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.
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