In January of 2019, I went on an art adventure. I left my home and drove to Dallas to visit the Dallas Museum of Art. They had an exhibit of Ida O’Keefe works. Who knew Georgia had a sister who was also an artist — actually she had two artist sisters: Ida and Catherine. But this exhibit was all about Ida.
Ida led a fascinating and varied life. She was a nurse and a teacher who wrote and illustrated books she printed herself for her classes. She also taught art and studied under other artists every chance she got.
As a single woman during the Depression, her resources and choices were limited. She worked very hard and moved around the country a lot, but she never lost sight of her identity as an artist.
I purchased this book, Ida O’Keefe: Escaping Georgia’s Shadow, from the museum, but you can pick it up from Amazon. In full disclosure, if you purchase through that link I will earn a small commission which I will appreciate very much and that helps me continue posting about my travels.
I am not a huge fan of Art Deco or Abstract art, but I was fascinated by the evolution of Ida’s work that was clearly displayed in the exhibit. And I was impressed that she actually printed her own textbooks for her classes. Another striking comparison was between Ida’s art and Georgia’s. There were a couple of comparison examples there. One was a famous painting of Georgia’s of a seashell. In her painting that’s all there is, the shell. In Ida’s painting of the same still life, you see the shell in its surroundings, quite a charming scene.
Both Ida and Catherine were talented artists but Georgia let it be known that there was only room for one artist in the family and she was it. Sadly, Catherine gave up painting altogether, but Ida was not to be deterred. She left home and continued to practice her art for her whole life. Lacking a powerful sponsor like Alfred Stieglitz, she struggled become known and have her art promoted but she did not let that stop her either.
The next day I drove to Houston to visit the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with my sister. I’ll write a separate post about that experience.
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