Georgia O’Keeffe once was the professor of the Art Department at West Texas A&M University back in 1914 when it still was West Texas Normal College. Miss O’Keeffe moved west for Texas from her home of Williamsburg, VA in 1912 to experience the so-called wild west. Hearing the stories of the ‘Wild West’ and ‘Billy The Kid’ from her mother as a child made her fantasize about the wonders Texas could offer. When she was initially offered a position in 1912 to teach art at the high school in Amarillo, she took it. O’Keeffe spent two years in Amarillo and two more in Canyon at the college. In her diary in 1919, she recalls her time spent in the panhandle.
“I lived on the plains of North Texas for four years… It is the only place I have ever felt that I really belonged- That I really felt at home… That was my country– terrible winds and a wonderful emptiness.”
Miss O’Keeffe was well loved by her students in both Amarillo and at WT.
In a 1990 interview, Lula Byrd McCabe, who had O’Keeffe as a professor between 1916-1918 remarked, “She was a pleasant teacher, who always held our interests.”
Another student Cornelia Wolflin Patton stated in a 1986 interview recalling her time in the classroom, “Since the land was barren she would bring in pieces of wheat and tape them up on the board for us to paint– She liked to paint from reality.”
O’Keeffe made her mark on the panhandle by capturing the beauty of nature and showing her students of the world of art and beauty through her eyes.
“I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty,” O’Keeffe said in one of her commonly known quotes.
In celebration of her life the Panhandle-Plans Historical Museum will host a birthday party Friday, Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. – noon. It’s open to the public with free admission.
“The museum is always hosting public programs for families,” Amy Mitchell, Programs Coordinator at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, said.” We are going to serve cake and allow kids to make O’Keeffe-inspired art using different mediums.”
Also helping with the event is Jordan Oursbourn, Marketing Intern at the museum.
“We made a power point for the celebration which has pictures of O’Keeffe’s flower paintings so the kids can have inspiration when making their own art,” Oursbourn said.
The museum currently has on display some of the watercolor paintings she painted during her stay in Canyon. The museum owns one of her oil paintings, but it’s currently on tour with her other works. Georgia O’Keeffe had a special place in her heart for open skies of Texas– just as the people of West Texas remember and celebrate the beauty of her life.
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for,” O’Keeffe said as a famous quote referring to her artwork.
