Santa Fe - Museum and Dinner

I am not really an art museum kind of gal, but after walking by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum a gazillion times over the years, we decided to make it part of our day in Santa Fe for Ron's birthday.

Although it wasn't terribly crowded, we were happy we'd made a reservation so we could be sure we'd be able to visit without a wait.

Georgia O'Keeffe is one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, known for her contribution to modern art.  She was the second of seven children and was born on November 15, 1887.  She grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and by the time she graduated from high school in 1905, she had determined that she would make her way as an artist.  

By the mid 1920s, O'Keeffe was recognized as one of America's most important and successful artists, known for her paintings of New York skyscrapers, as well as her equally radical depictions of flowers.  In 1929, she made the first of many trips to northern New Mexico.  The stark landscape and Native American and Hispanic cultures of the region inspired a new direction in her art.  For the next two decades she spent most summers living and working in New Mexico.  In 1949, after her husband's death, she made New Mexico her permanent home.

Georgia O'Keeffe

1887-1986

In 1922, Georgia O'Keeffe stated "I paint what interests me and what I see".  So here's a few examples of what she saw.  (Disclaimer:  It is very difficult to take photos of items hanging on a wall.)

In 1924, Georgia married Alfred Stieglitz, who was more than 20 years her senior, after having an affair with him for several years.  In 1925, they took up residence in the Shelton Hotel, a thirty-two story residential hotel that would remain their New York City address for more than a decade.  Like the Shelton, the nearby forty-two-story Ritz Tower was a residential hotel - the tallest in New York at the time of its opening in 1927.  As O'Keeffe later recalled, the male artists in her husband's circle resisted the idea that she, too, might paint the modern city.  "The men decided they didn't want me to paint New York....They told me to 'leave New York to the men.'  I was furious."  In all, O'Keeffe would execute only a handful of paintings of skyscrapers.

Ritz Tower, 1928

O'Keeffe painted this plant, a deadly nightshade known as bella donna, while she was in Hawaii.  Due to its white, trumpet-shaped flowers, bella donna looks similar to its cousin the jimson weed, a plant O'Keeffe had painted in New Mexico. 

O'Keeffe first painted clouds as seen from above in the early 1960s.  As she recalled,  this series originate with her own bird's-eye view:  

"One day when I was flying back to New Mexico, the sky below was a most beautiful solid white.  It looked so secure that I thought I could walk right out onto it to the horizon if the door opened.  The sky beyond was a light clear blue.  It was so wonderful that I couldn't wait to be home to paint it....The next time I flew, the sky below was completely full of little oval white clouds, all more or less alike."

Above the Clouds I

1962-1963

Oil on canvas

Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico

Out of Marie's II, 1930

Oil on canvas mounted board

This painting was inspired by a rafting trip down the Colorado River that O'Keeffe took with her friends, photographers Eliot Porter and Todd Webb, in 1961.  Work was already underway on the Glen Canyon Dam, which would flood the area to create Lake Powell, and Porter and Webb sought to document this natural canyon before its red sandstone walls were submerged.

On the River I Canyon Country III, c. 1965

Oil on canvas

In 1971, O'Keeffe was diagnosed with macular degeneration, an irreversible condition that caused the loss of her central vision.  This work, completed the following year, is believed to be O'Keeffe's last oil painting executed without the help of an assistant.  Echoing the painting's composition of contrasting horizontal bands, it is titled "The Beyond".  The poetry and drama of the scene depicted is achieved in part by O'Keeffe's use of color, in this case contained to blues, blacks, and whites, which evoke a late evening view with a sense of mystery.

The Beyond, 1972

Oil on canvas

After leaving Santa Fe, we headed north to one of our favorite restaurants, Rancho De Chimayo.  It's a little out of the way but definitely a spot to remember.  It is surrounded by three mountain ranges and combines traditional Mexican cuisine with family recipes.

In 1965, Arturo and Florence Jaramillo envisioned a plan for a house built by their ancestors and the Restaurante Racho de Chimayo was born.  Their restaurant preserved the rich traditions of their family and its proud culture, welcoming guests into the comfortable and romantic piece of history.  Family photographs hang on the adobe walls and the lovely terraced patio provides exquisite outdoor dining.

In 1984, the Jaramillo family completed restoration of Hacienda Rancho de Chimayo and the home was renovated into seven guest rooms.  Each room opens onto an enclosed courtyard and within each room are turn of the century antiques, a private bath, and a quiet sitting area and fireplace.  (Note to self - stay overnight next time).

In 2008, a fire damaged the kitchen and other areas.  After more than a year, the restaurant was restored and upgraded, preserving the original adobe walls, structure and many of it's authentic features.

We had a great table on the patio.

First order of business was ordering their famous family recipe, Chimayo Cocktail.  

Mmm, mmm, good.

Rancho de Chimayo was honored as one of New Mexico's Culinary Treasures in 2014, and is one of only a handful of restaurants awarded the distinction.  Restaurants are celebrated that have stood the test of time, independent spots that have become beloved in their neighborhoods.  Many of these are operated by the founding family or by someone handpicked by the founders to carry on their legacy.  In all cases they are still family-owned and operated.

The lady at the next table offered to take our photo.

Happy birthday, Ron!

A great day in our favorite part of the country.