Last year it was Chihuly, but this year, the big exhibit to hit the New York Botanical Gardens will be Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i. The exhibition will explore the “lesser-known chapter in her career” when she spent time on several of the Hawaiian islands over the course of three months, creating over 20 paintings of the landscape.
The exhibit will feature plants Georgia O’Keeffe came across while traveling Hawai’i, displayed in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
“The centerpiece will be long borders of colorful tropical garden plants such as those Georgia O’Keeffe encountered and painted while in Hawai‘i. These borders will burst with the dazzling flowers of ti, frangipani, bougainvillea, heliconia, hibiscus, bird of paradise, ginger, and many more tropical favorites.”
Her works of art will also be featured in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery. Here you’ll find 20 of her paintings that have not been seen together since 1940.
The exhibition will run from May 19 until October 28, 2018. During this time there will be events held on weekends that’ll include “live music, performances of hula and chant, and artisan demonstrations of lei and poi making.” Other planned programs will also include lectures and film series.
This collection was created by Georgia O’Keeffe on a trip commissioned by Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now known as Dole). They hired her to paint two pieces featuring a pineapple. Instead, O’Keeffe painted over 20 works of art covering various landscapes and flora.
featured image source: By Acroterion (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons