Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities @ the American Art Museum
 Ansel Adams, Saint Francis Church Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, c. 1929 Gelatin silver print, 13 5/16 x 17 9/16 inches Collection Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust |
Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities, which opened at the Smithsonian American Art Museum last week, shows that works of art can indeed converse with each other. With photographs by Adams and paintings by O'Keeffe, Natural Affinities features the artists's depictions of the same, or similar scenes and locations, and examines two very different ways of thinking about nature.
Both artists captured the Southwest (and Adams the West), and its accompanying empty desert landscapes, wide, cavernous skies, and buildings, like the same small church in Taos, New Mexico. The 42 paintings by O'Keeffe and 54 photographs by Adams on display make for a large show, but one that is easily accessible, given the pairings that occur throughout the gallery.
O'Keeffe's painting, Ranchos Church No.1, is paired with Adams' Saint Francis Church Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Each artist visited the church in 1929, and though they present it from different angles, it is clearly the same building. O'Keeffe's church is soft and bright, and she sets it against a blue sky. Adams' photograph, in black and white, is more imposing and solid, and the church takes up most of the frame. But between the abstracted painting and the crisp photograph, the artists seem to be conversing about the different things they see in the same image. The same happens with other scenes and buildings. O'Keeffe's Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie's II is similar to Adams' Winter Sunrise The Sierra Nevada from Lone Pine, California — each depicts multi-hued, peaked mountains, as well as an impressive Western topography. But O'Keeffe's scene is brighter and more welcoming, and Adams' is ominous and impressive.
By pairing O'Keeffe and Adams, who also happened to be friends, curators have given us insight into how two artists saw the same landscapes, and how paint and photograph can capture the same image differently.
Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities runs through January 4. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is located in the Reynolds Center at 8th and F Streets, NW. The Center is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.