October 13, 2024–January 20, 2025

Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore

Art Credits

Art Credits

American painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) and British sculptor Henry Moore (1898–1986) are among the most distinctive artists of the 20th century. They have long been admired for their extraordinary distillations of natural forms into abstraction—O’Keeffe’s iconic paintings of flowers and Moore’s monumental public sculpture. This major exhibition is the first to bring these two artists into conversation, using compelling visual juxtapositions to explore their common ways of seeing. Each artist experimented with unusual perspectives, shifts in scale, and layered compositions to produce works that were informed by their surroundings—O’Keeffe in New Mexico and Moore in Hertfordshire, England.

Though both O’Keeffe and Moore remained within reach of city life, the two artists worked in rural settings, where they amassed large personal collections of animal bones, stones, seashells, and other natural materials that served as key sources of inspiration. Featuring more than 150 works, “Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore” includes paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, as well as faithful recreations of each artist’s studio containing their tools and found objects. The studio installations illuminate the heart of their artistic practice—something rarely made visible in museum spaces—and create richer portraits of O’Keeffe and Moore by encouraging visitors to imagine how they worked and lived.

Organized by the San Diego Museum of Art, the exhibition is an unprecedented collaboration with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the Henry Moore Foundation. In addition to about 90 works by Moore and 60 by O’Keeffe, the MFA’s presentation draws on the Museum’s modernist collection to put O’Keeffe and Moore in dialogue with other mid-20th-century artists active in the United States and in Europe—among them Edward Weston, Barbara Hepworth, Arthur Dove, and Jean Arp—all of whom engaged with creating abstraction from nature.

  • Ann and Graham Gund Gallery (Gallery LG31)

Videos

Dive Deeper

Finding Henry Moore Around Boston

Who is Henry Moore? Read about the artist’s Boston connections.

Living Modern with Georgia O’Keeffe

Learn about the natural world’s influence on O’Keeffe’s art and life.

Featured Artwork

Georgia O'Keeffe painting depicting tall, dark, purplish flower surrounded by green leaves on a blue sky background
Wooden sculpture that abstractly resembles a reclining figure
Georgia O’Keeffe, Red Hill and White Shell, 1938
Henry Moore, Mother and Child, 1978
Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986) Fishhook From Hawaii, No. 2 1939
A marble bone-like statue resembling a reclining figure
Georgia O'Keeffe, Deer's Skull with Pedernal.
Abstraction White Rose
Painting of a large white rose with larkspurs in background
Georgia O'Keeffe,, Leaf Motif No. 2, 1924
Henry Moore, Helmet, 1939-40
A painting of a blue oval
Henry Moore, Reclining Figure Bone, 1975
Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986) The White Flower (White Trumpet Flower) 1932
A surreal painting features a twisted, abstract red and pink structure against a bright yellow background with soft gradients.
An abstract fiberglass sculpture in a green garden.
Edward Weston (American, 1886–1958) Orchid 1931
Georgia O'Keeffe, Calla Lily on Gret, 1928
Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887–1986) Canyon Country, White and Brown Cliffs 1965
Edward Weston (American, 1886–1958) Skull and Rock-Arrangement 1931

MFA Mobile

A museum visitor engages with their phone in front of a painting of a white rose

Download MFA Mobile on Bloomberg Connects to hear from the curators and other experts about the art and dive deeper into the exhibition. Several stops include guided slow looking, an opportunity for you to pause, take mindful time with the art, and make your own discoveries. The tour provides text transcripts and detailed audio descriptions of the featured artworks for visitors who are blind or have low vision.

Download MFA Mobile

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Shop the Exhibition

In the News

The Boston Globe (10/10/24): "At the MFA, ‘Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore’ revels in rhyme not reason"
The Boston Globe (9/13/24): "Fall Arts Guide: 90 fun things to do in and around Boston this fall"
WBUR (10/15/24): "The works of artists Georgia O'Keeffe and Henry Moore in conversation at the MFA"
WBUR (9/19/24): "2024 Fall Art Guide: 13 art exhibits to explore this fall"
GBH-FM's "The Culture Show" (12/10/24): "A Betty White forever stamp, They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, and Georgia O'Keeffe and Henry Moore at the MFA"

Sponsors

Generously supported by the Bafflin Foundation. Additional support from the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Exhibition Fund, the Robert and Jane Burke Fund for Exhibitions, Lynn Dale and Frank Wisneski, the Eugenie Prendergast Memorial Fund, and the Patricia B. Jacoby Exhibition Fund.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

The San Diego Museum of Art: Balboa Park

Organized by the San Diego Museum of Art in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.