Jump to content

Rust Red Hills

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rust Red Hills
ArtistGeorgia O'KeeffeEdit this on Wikidata
Year1930
Dimensions16 in (41 cm) × 30 in (76 cm)
LocationBrauer Museum of Art
Accession No.62.02Edit this on Wikidata
[edit on Wikidata]

Rust Red Hillsis a 1930landscape paintingby American artistGeorgia O'Keeffe.It depicts red and brown hills under a glowing red and yellow sky in northernNew Mexico,most likely in the vicinity ofTaos.At its initial exhibition in 1931, O'Keeffe indicated that it was one of her own best-loved paintings from that time period. The work is currently held by theBrauer Museum of Art,but in 2023,Valparaiso University,which runs the museum, announced they planned to sell the painting and two others to raise money to renovate the student dormitories. Art associations protested the pending sale as an ethical violation of thedeaccessioningprocess.

Background

[edit]
Main article:Georgia O'Keeffe § New Mexico (1930s–1986)

Georgia O'Keeffe's relationship withNew Mexico,which would later become part of her artistic identity, was ignited by a brief visit to the state with her sister in 1917 and deepened through her interactions with her friends in the 1920s, includingPaul Strand,Rebecca Salsbury James,Paul Rosenfeld,andDorothy Brett,all of whom shared vivid accounts of their experiences in the region, piquing O'Keeffe's curiosity. It was not until 1929 that she accepted an invitation fromMabel Dodge Luhan,a key figure in theTaos art colony.[1]For the next two summers, from 1929 to 1930, O'Keeffe painted throughout Taos,Alcade,and nearAbiquiu.[2]The region's southwesternPueblo architecture,cultural motifs, and stark natural beauty unique to thegeography of New Mexicofound profound expression in her work. O'Keeffe's artistic output during this period includes her series on theSan Francisco de Asís Mission Church(Ranchos Church, Taos,1929;Ranchos Church,1930), an exploration of local religious iconography and architectural form, and the iconography of thePenitentes(Black Cross, New Mexico,1929), a devout religious group known for their distinctive crosses. She also found herself fascinated with the vast, rugged landscapes, turning her attention to hills and mountains (Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie's II,1930;The Mountain, New Mexico,1931). One painting from this series,Mountain at Bear Lake — Taos(1930), was gifted to theWhite Housein 1997 and currently hangs in theWhite House Libraryas part of the permanentWhite House art collection.[3]

Development

[edit]

In 1930, Georgia O'Keeffe created 54 works, some of which were created in Maine and New York, though the majority were completed in New Mexico.[4]In April of that year, she continued her exploration of natural forms in Maine, expanding on her ongoing shell series first initiated in the 1920s (Shell and Old Shingle I,Shell and Old Shingle VII,1926;Shell No. 2,1928) and continuing sporadically into the 1930s (Clam Shell,1930;Two Pink Shells/Pink Shell,1937).[5]By May, O'Keeffe was painting inLake George,New York (Lake George Early Moonrise,1930).[4]During her second stay in New Mexico, from June to September, O'Keeffe completedRust Red Hills,also known asHills - Back of Mabel's, Taos,and the alternate titleToward Abiquiu, New Mexico.[6]This painting was one of approximately 19 works she completed in the summer of 1930, including both drawings and paintings, centered on the region's distinctive hills, mesas, and mountains in and around the towns of Taos, Alcade, and the areas surroundingAbiquiu.[4]

Depiction

[edit]

It is now believed the painting was made in the area ofTaos, New Mexico.[7]Previously, it was thought that the painting depicted the hills near the town of Abiquiu.[8]Despite misnomers in several titles of related works (such asNear Abiquiu, New Mexico,1930, which was made near Taos, not Abiquiu), partially caused by Stieglitz or others adding erroneous titles to the paintings before they were corrected by O'Keeffe, some of the works in this series may have been completed north of theTaos Pueblo,not in Abiquiu, depicting different views ofLobo Peakin theSangre de Cristo Mountains.[9]

Provenance

[edit]

General Millspurchased the work for theiremployee art collectionin 1958 from theDowntown Galleryin Greenwich Village, New York City.[6]It was exhibited in Minneapolis and lent out to various museums.[10]The 1953 Percy H. Sloan endowment toValparaiso Universityallowed Richard H. W. Brauer to purchaseRust Red Hillsfor the university art museum in 1962 for $5,700. He was able to authenticate the work directly with Georgia O'Keeffe. It was the second painting acquired by the new museum and was added to the permanent collection of what was later renamed theBrauer Museum of Art.[11]

Deaccessioning

[edit]
Main article:Valparaiso University deaccessioning controversy

In early 2023,Valparaiso University,led by presidentJosé Padilla,announced plans to sell three significant paintings, including Georgia O'Keeffe'sRust Red Hills,to fund dormitory renovations amidst financial struggles and declining enrollment. The proposal ignited protests from faculty, students and the larger art community. Valparaiso defended their plan, arguing that the artworks were not essential to its educational mission.[12]With the O'Keeffe painting alone being worth between $10-15 million,[13]the proposed sale of all three paintings would allow Valparaiso to raise the needed funds.[14]Thedeaccessioningwas opposed by theAssociation of Art Museum Directors(AAMD), theAmerican Alliance of Museums(AAM), theAssociation of Academic Museums and Galleries(AAMG), and theAssociation of Art Museum Curators(AAMC), citing ethical guidelines that generally restrict the use of deaccessioned art funds for purposes unrelated to art.[15]Richard H. W. Brauer filed a lawsuit, but he failed to establish standing and it was dismissed.[16]In June 2024, Padilla closed the Brauer Museum and laid off all staff.[13]With the museum closed,Rust Red Hillsis currently secured in an off-site storage area as of September 2024.[16]

Exhibitions

[edit]

The painting was first exhibited at Alfred Stieglitz's An American Place gallery in 1931, where it was shown without a visible title, despite the title (Hills - Back of Mabel's, Taos) appearing on the stretcher bar on theverso.Here, O'Keeffe signed her initials within a star, a symbol she used to mark a selected painting she personally preferred as special and well liked.[8]Several decades later, the painting appeared in a 1953 exhibition tour at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Mayo Hill Galleries in Florida. It has been included in touring exhibitions in 1961, 1965, 1980, 2004, 2008, and in 2013, appearing throughout the United States,[17]Canada, Ireland, and Spain.[8]The painting also appeared at theTate Modernin 2016 in the United Kingdom.[18]

  • Georgia O'Keeffe: Recent Paintings, New Mexico, New York, Etc. -- Etc.(1931)
  • An Exhibition of Paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe(1953)
  • American Business and the Arts(1961)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe(1965)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe An Exhibition of Oils, Watercolors and Drawings(1980)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place(2004)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams(2008)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land(2013)
  • Georgia O'Keeffe(2016)

References

[edit]
  1. ^Schwendener, Martha (January 6, 2013)."A Review of 'Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico,' at the Montclair Art Museum".The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
    • Robinson, Roxana (1999)[1989].Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life.Hanover: University Press of New England.ISBN9780874519068.OCLC39732936.
  2. ^Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter (2005)[2004].Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe.New York: W. W. Norton. p. 324.ISBN9780393343090.OCLC1369657418.
  3. ^Fling, Sarah (2024). "Diversity in White House Art: Georgia O'Keeffe".The White House Historical Association.Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  4. ^abc"Georgia O'Keeffe's Artistic Career"Archived2024-05-21 at theWayback Machine.Data visualization.Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.October 25, 2024.
  5. ^Messinger, Lisa Mintz (2001).Georgia O'Keeffe.London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 104-121.ISBN0500203407.OCLC1057621726.
  6. ^ab"Rust Red Hills"Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
  7. ^Lynes, Barbara Buhler; Poling-Kempes, Leslie; Turner, Frederick W. (2004).Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place.Princeton University Press; Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. pp. 59-66.ISBN9780691116594.OCLC52902460.
  8. ^abcHertzlieb, Gregg (Fall/Winter 2009-2010)."Georgia O'Keeffe: Rust Red Hills".Valparaiso Poetry Review.XI (1). Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  9. ^Messinger, Lis. M. (Ed.). (2011).Stieglitz and his Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe.The Alfred Stieglitz Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 202.ISBN9781588394330.OCLC711045516.
  10. ^San Francisco Museum of Art. (1961).American Business and the Arts.An exhibition presented on the occasion of the International Industrial Conference. Sept. 14 through Oct. 15, 1961.OCLC744713717.
  11. ^Grant, Daniel (June 28, 2024)."Valparaiso University shuts down Brauer Museum amid deaccessioning scandal"Archived2024-09-13 at theWayback Machine.The Art Newspaper.Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  12. ^Jones, Shelly (February 15, 2023)."Valparaiso University students protest plan to sell three paintings, including a Georgia O'Keeffe".Post-Tribune.Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  13. ^abLavalley, Amy (June 21, 2024)."Valparaiso University cuts 14 staff, including museum director, in restructuring effort"Archived2024-09-04 at theWayback Machine.Post-Tribune.Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  14. ^Richardson, Kalia (March 10, 2023)."Its Georgia O'Keeffe Is Worth Millions. And Its Dorms Need Updating"Archived2024-09-28 at theWayback Machine.The New York Times.Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  15. ^Boucher, Brian (September 4, 2024)."A Court Approves Valparaiso University’s Controversial Plan to Sell Paintings From Brauer Museum Collection"Archived2024-09-26 at theWayback Machine.Artnet.Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  16. ^abCui, Liya (February 23, 2024)."Indiana Court Allows Valparaiso University to Sell O'Keeffe Painting".U.S. News & World Report.Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  17. ^O'Keeffe, Georgia. (1960-1964).Rust Red Hills.Exhibitions. Collections Online.Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  18. ^"Georgia O'Keeffe"Archived2024-09-13 at theWayback Machine.6 July - 30 October 2016.Tate Modern.Retrieved October 25, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rust_Red_Hills&oldid=1259580073"