The New York Botanical Garden announced its major 2018 exhibition, Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i, focusing on the artist’s immersion in the Hawaiian Islands in 1939. Opening May 19, 2018, exhibition visitors will experience a flower show in the Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as well as the story of the flora and unique ecology of Hawai‘i.
Curated by art historian Theresa Papanikolas, Ph.D., of the Honolulu Museum of Art, the exhibition will showcase more than 15 original O’Keeffe paintings not seen together in New York since their 1940 debut. Visitors of all ages will learn about Hawai‘i through complementary events, programs, and demonstrations such as a film series, lectures, readings, and an interactive guide.
Hawai'i in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will showcase the beauty and richness of Hawai'i's cultivated flora. Designed by Tony Award-winning set designer Scott Pask, the exhibition will also introduce visitors to the importance of plants in Hawaiian culture and growing concerns about threats to native Hawaiian plants. The centerpiece will be long borders of colorful tropical garden plants such as those Georgia O’Keeffe encountered and painted while in Hawai‘i.
Georgia O'Keeffe's Works in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery
A display in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery will offer a rare focus on Georgia O'Keefe's paintings created during a three-month sojourn commissioned by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now Dole) in 1939. The exhibition will spotlight a transformative time in the artist's life.
Programming Throughout the Garden
A program of performances, events and activities for adults and children will celebrate the cultural traditions of Hawai'i past and present. During the summer, evening programs will celebrate the culture that captured Georgia O’Keeffe’s imagination. Weekends throughout the time of the exhibition will celebrate Hawai'i and include live music, hula performances and artisan demonstrations of lei and poi making.
A scholarly symposium, lectures and a film series are also among the planned programming.