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Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue

1931
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 757
Weary of life in the metropolis, O’Keeffe began taking regular retreats to Lake George, New York, and then to New Mexico. After her first extended trip to the Southwest in 1929, her artistic interests shifted from the buildings of New York to the nature of New Mexico. In this work, O’Keeffe isolates a single skull, highlighting its jagged edges, worn surfaces, and bleached color. To O’Keeffe, such bones represented the desert’s enduring beauty and the strength of the American spirit, which is alluded to in the striped background. In 1949 O’Keeffe settled permanently in New Mexico, where she lived until her death in 1986.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue
  • Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe (American, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 1887–1986 Santa Fe, New Mexico)
  • Date: 1931
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 7/8 × 35 7/8 in. (101.3 × 91.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1952
  • Object Number: 52.203
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

Audio

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1827. Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue

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The Work of Georgia O'Keeffe. A Portfolio of Ten Paintings
Georgia O'Keeffe
Knight Publishers
1937
[Door and Adobe Wall, Abiquiu, New Mexico], Georgia O'Keeffe American, Gelatin silver print
[Door and Adobe Wall, Abiquiu, New Mexico]
Georgia O'Keeffe
1957–58
[Looking from Bedroom at Abiquiu Towards Rio Chama, New Mexico], Georgia O'Keeffe American, Gelatin silver print
[Looking from Bedroom at Abiquiu Towards Rio Chama, New Mexico]
Georgia O'Keeffe
1957–58
[Studio Door and Adobe Wall, Abiquiu, New Mexico], Georgia O'Keeffe American, Gelatin silver print
[Studio Door and Adobe Wall, Abiquiu, New Mexico]
Georgia O'Keeffe
1957–58
[Looking from Garage to Studio Door, Abiquiu, New Mexico], Georgia O'Keeffe American, Gelatin silver print
[Looking from Garage to Studio Door, Abiquiu, New Mexico]
Georgia O'Keeffe
1957–58

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