Peru - Machu Picchu, Morning Light

In the spring of 1956, Georgia O’Keeffe spent three months in Peru, traveling from the capital, Lima, to the ruins of the 15th-century Incan city of Machu Picchu. She admired the archeological site tremendously but was equally enthralled with the mountainous terrain: “The great ruin of Machu Picchu... is in the most beautiful green sheer mountains... a peak rises up above the big ruin, across the river—terraced so that I wouldn’t dream of trying to go up it—it is so sheer—the mts. were to me more wonderful than the ruin.” Peru—Machu Picchu, Morning Light conveys her awe at the sublime scenery, but O’Keeffe did not feel compelled to paint the Peruvian landscape more than a few times in her career.

Credit: Bequest of Paul and Gabriella Rosenbaum