Cliffs Beyond Abiquiu, Dry Waterfall

1943

Cliffs Beyond Abiquiu, Dry Waterfall, 1943. Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986). Oil on canvas; framed: 79.5 x 44 x 5.1 cm (31 5/16 x 17 5/16 x 2 in.); unframed: 76.2 x 40.6 cm (30 x 16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe 1987.141 © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Weary from social duties in Manhattan that distracted her from making art, O’Keeffe spent increasing time in rural New Mexico near the village of Abiquiu, eventually moving there permanently. As evidenced here, the multicolored cliffs near her home at Ghost Ranch provided subject matter for her painting. Upon her death, the artist bequeathed this canvas—along with four others—to the Cleveland Museum of Art, an early supporter of her work. O’Keeffe preferred certain frame styles, including this example nicknamed “clamshell” due to its shape.