Red and Yellow Cliffs

Georgia O'Keeffe

1940 · Oil on canvas · Modern and Contemporary Art

In 1940, O’Keeffe purchased a house at Ghost Ranch in the Chama River valley of New Mexico. She spent her summers and falls at Ghost Ranch, where she painted the breathtaking views, including these immense red, pink, and yellow striated cliffs that rose up seven hundred feet behind her house. Dotted with green shrubs, the landscape faithfully reproduces the vibrant colors of the American Southwest. The immensity of these geologic outcroppings are emphasized by the tiny patch of blue sky at the top left. Awed by these colorful cliffs, O’Keeffe painted them seven times.

Artist

Georgia O'Keeffe

Date

1940

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1986