My daughter, A, must be enjoying good art education. I took her to
Milwaukee Museum of Art, and we reviewed the gallery list while eating
brunch in the Calatrava Cafe, http://www.calatrava.com/. Georgia
O'Keeffe struck a chord with her, and I wonder where she learned about
O'Keeffe. Let's just refer to one of the great patrons of MAM as Mrs.
Bradley. She bought a series of Georgia O'Keeffe's later painting, so
when we went to visit Mrs. Bradley's modern art collection on the top
floor, I pointed out the O'Keeffe gallery and asked to come find me in
the Mrs. Bradley's rooms overlooking the Lake Michigan waterfront.
Does any young lady want dad breathing down her neck as she
experiences a painter's originals, after seeing slides or pictures in
a book? I was content to sit in one of Mrs. Bradley's low red sofas
and gaze out over the azure water and wait. I've had my time with the
O'Keeffe's on previous visits. It's not necessary to see them each
time I visit the MAM. I can imagine them being close to where they
reside. When we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, I
stayed out of the way, too, usually viewing the galleries
counter-clockwise to her path. After Sunday at the MAM, I proposed we take the train into Chicago
from the Milwaukee Airport Amtrak station. Funny how this day trip
didn't appeal to my A. So I was at a loss, and I begin checking
websites looking for ideas. She liked the idea, in theory, of driving
off into the Wisconsin countryside, but what to pursue? Cheese? I
cannot find this website today, but one site announced, "Artist
Georgia O'Keeffe started life in Sun Prairie, WI". I googled the route
to Sun Prairie, somewhat more than an hour's drive away. And since Sun
Prairie sits northeast and close to Madison, it sold the idea to my A.
And it didn't take a lot of selling; she liked the idea of looking for
traces of a woman who left a town 10 decades before her birth. Sun
Prairie had just wrapped up a sweet corn festival, so I was pretty
sure of good eating once I got there. I am wondering if scientists have analyzed the sunshine that falls
upon Sun Prairie. A party of exploration, looking for a place to build
Wisconsin's capitol, didn't see sunshine until reaching Sun Prairie's
location after days of traveling through rain. As for me, 17 decades
later, I was amazed at the full sunlight that bathed all details
without glare. How could any woman grow up in Sun Prairie without
falling in love with great fields of color? Sun Prairie does celebrate the life of Georgia O'Keeffe with an annual
festival and a historical marker, which tells you little and shows no
example of her art:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3PJY_Georgia_OKeeffe_Sun_Prairie_WI.
Route 19 that passes through Sun Prairie, WI is named the Georgia
O'Keeffe Memorial Highway on one map, but it's not declared on a
roadway sign, as far as I can see. At the local chamber of commerce
office, a remarkable brochure maps out a walking tour, displaying
pictures of homes that existed when Georgia walked those streets.
However, it is out-of-date by years. Little is known in the popular
conversation about Georgia. An excellent man who runs the Market
Street Diner took a moment to talk about Georgia. And this is what he
said in front of my 13 year old daughter: "When O'Keeffe turned 14
years old, she got as far away from Sun Prairie as she could." I was
rather hoping my A wouldn't get any ideas here. But we did come
looking for ideas from a woman who lived her life according to her own
lights. The truth of his statement has to be assessed by a good
reading of biographies. Apparently, Georgia's family departed for
Virginia around here 14th year. Despite the festival and the outdated brochure, the trace of O'Keeffe
is dwindling in Sun Prairie. Georgia attended watercolor classes on
North Street, and although the house is still in one piece and shows
fascinating features, it is divided into three apartments. The
location of Georgia O'Keeffe's grandmother's home on Town Hall Road is
determined by first finding the Town Hall, and we drove up and down
Town Hall south of Route 19, and noticed no building that looked the
role. It is possible that the school Georgia attended also stood on
Town Hall Road. It is difficult to spot the grandmother's house. In
fact, I drove by it and my daughter made me drive back. It is no
longer indicated by a marker; the estate is rank with trees, several
of which are not visible in the brochure's image. The land upon which
Georgia's house stood, lost to fire, lies under an immensely thick
corn field. We were clearly being watched as we stopped to take photos
of the grandmother's house. We didn't step foot of the road.
Ironically, Google maps street view goes no further south on Town Hall
Road than this house. There is an ramshackle farm estate for sale on
the corner of County Route T and Town Hall Road; maybe that could be
purchased for an art colony. The light is really that good. On an ironic note, in Madison, WI, we found a theater featuring a
Georgia O'Keefe show. We went there to talk to the actress or the
playwright, but instead we were well greeted by a young man in a
poet's shirt. Market Street Diner: http://www.marketstreetdiner.com/
O'Keeffe Marker:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3PJY_Georgia_OKeeffe_Sun_Prairie_WI
Broom Street Theater: http://www.broomstreet.org/
Woman on Paper, Broom Street Theater:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=30173
Milwaukee Museum of Art, and we reviewed the gallery list while eating
brunch in the Calatrava Cafe, http://www.calatrava.com/. Georgia
O'Keeffe struck a chord with her, and I wonder where she learned about
O'Keeffe. Let's just refer to one of the great patrons of MAM as Mrs.
Bradley. She bought a series of Georgia O'Keeffe's later painting, so
when we went to visit Mrs. Bradley's modern art collection on the top
floor, I pointed out the O'Keeffe gallery and asked to come find me in
the Mrs. Bradley's rooms overlooking the Lake Michigan waterfront.
Does any young lady want dad breathing down her neck as she
experiences a painter's originals, after seeing slides or pictures in
a book? I was content to sit in one of Mrs. Bradley's low red sofas
and gaze out over the azure water and wait. I've had my time with the
O'Keeffe's on previous visits. It's not necessary to see them each
time I visit the MAM. I can imagine them being close to where they
reside. When we visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, I
stayed out of the way, too, usually viewing the galleries
counter-clockwise to her path. After Sunday at the MAM, I proposed we take the train into Chicago
from the Milwaukee Airport Amtrak station. Funny how this day trip
didn't appeal to my A. So I was at a loss, and I begin checking
websites looking for ideas. She liked the idea, in theory, of driving
off into the Wisconsin countryside, but what to pursue? Cheese? I
cannot find this website today, but one site announced, "Artist
Georgia O'Keeffe started life in Sun Prairie, WI". I googled the route
to Sun Prairie, somewhat more than an hour's drive away. And since Sun
Prairie sits northeast and close to Madison, it sold the idea to my A.
And it didn't take a lot of selling; she liked the idea of looking for
traces of a woman who left a town 10 decades before her birth. Sun
Prairie had just wrapped up a sweet corn festival, so I was pretty
sure of good eating once I got there. I am wondering if scientists have analyzed the sunshine that falls
upon Sun Prairie. A party of exploration, looking for a place to build
Wisconsin's capitol, didn't see sunshine until reaching Sun Prairie's
location after days of traveling through rain. As for me, 17 decades
later, I was amazed at the full sunlight that bathed all details
without glare. How could any woman grow up in Sun Prairie without
falling in love with great fields of color? Sun Prairie does celebrate the life of Georgia O'Keeffe with an annual
festival and a historical marker, which tells you little and shows no
example of her art:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3PJY_Georgia_OKeeffe_Sun_Prairie_WI.
Route 19 that passes through Sun Prairie, WI is named the Georgia
O'Keeffe Memorial Highway on one map, but it's not declared on a
roadway sign, as far as I can see. At the local chamber of commerce
office, a remarkable brochure maps out a walking tour, displaying
pictures of homes that existed when Georgia walked those streets.
However, it is out-of-date by years. Little is known in the popular
conversation about Georgia. An excellent man who runs the Market
Street Diner took a moment to talk about Georgia. And this is what he
said in front of my 13 year old daughter: "When O'Keeffe turned 14
years old, she got as far away from Sun Prairie as she could." I was
rather hoping my A wouldn't get any ideas here. But we did come
looking for ideas from a woman who lived her life according to her own
lights. The truth of his statement has to be assessed by a good
reading of biographies. Apparently, Georgia's family departed for
Virginia around here 14th year. Despite the festival and the outdated brochure, the trace of O'Keeffe
is dwindling in Sun Prairie. Georgia attended watercolor classes on
North Street, and although the house is still in one piece and shows
fascinating features, it is divided into three apartments. The
location of Georgia O'Keeffe's grandmother's home on Town Hall Road is
determined by first finding the Town Hall, and we drove up and down
Town Hall south of Route 19, and noticed no building that looked the
role. It is possible that the school Georgia attended also stood on
Town Hall Road. It is difficult to spot the grandmother's house. In
fact, I drove by it and my daughter made me drive back. It is no
longer indicated by a marker; the estate is rank with trees, several
of which are not visible in the brochure's image. The land upon which
Georgia's house stood, lost to fire, lies under an immensely thick
corn field. We were clearly being watched as we stopped to take photos
of the grandmother's house. We didn't step foot of the road.
Ironically, Google maps street view goes no further south on Town Hall
Road than this house. There is an ramshackle farm estate for sale on
the corner of County Route T and Town Hall Road; maybe that could be
purchased for an art colony. The light is really that good. On an ironic note, in Madison, WI, we found a theater featuring a
Georgia O'Keefe show. We went there to talk to the actress or the
playwright, but instead we were well greeted by a young man in a
poet's shirt. Market Street Diner: http://www.marketstreetdiner.com/
O'Keeffe Marker:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3PJY_Georgia_OKeeffe_Sun_Prairie_WI
Broom Street Theater: http://www.broomstreet.org/
Woman on Paper, Broom Street Theater:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=30173
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