MoMA Announces 'Georgia O'Keeffe: To See Takes Time'

The Museum of Modern Art announces Georgia O'Keeffe: To See Takes Time, the first exhibition to investigate the artist's works on paper made in series. Using charcoal, watercolor, pastel, and graphite, she explored forms and phenomena-from abstract rhythms to nature's cycles-across multiple examples. Some of these sequences also gave rise to related paintings, which will be installed alongside these works on paper.

On view in MoMA's third-floor south galleries from April 9 through August 12, 2023, the exhibition reveals a lesser-known side of this artist, foregrounding O'Keeffe's persistently modern process on paper. Over 120 works created over more than four decades-including key examples from MoMA's collection-demonstrate the ways in which O'Keeffe developed, repeated, and changed motifs that blur the boundary between observation and abstraction.

Seen together, these works demonstrate how drawing in series allowed O'Keeffe to revisit and rework subjects throughout her career, and reveal the thoughtful material choices behind her resplendent compositions. The exhibition is organized by Samantha Friedman, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, with Laura Neufeld, Associate Paper Conservator, The David Booth Conservation Department, and Emily Olek, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints. Special thanks to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.