Beyond the Notes:
Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is among the most noted American painters of the 20th century. She is well known for her abstracted images of flowers, and her images of the New Mexico southwest scenery, which she loved and thrived in for the latter half of her life.

Born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first found success in New York City with the support of photographer, gallery owner, pioneering advocate of Modernism, and future husband, Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946). O'Keeffe discovered the beauty of the New Mexico landscape in 1929, and would splither time between the southwest and New York. After Stieglitz's death, O'Keeffe moved full-time to her studio homes in Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch.

Nell Shaw Cohen has composed several works inspired by the life and art of Georgia O'Keeffe, including an orchestral tone poem. Beyond the Notes: Music Inspired by Art features two of these works: To Create One's Own World (2009) for soprano, flute, bass clarinet, and marimba, and The Faraway Nearby: Georgia O'Keeffe and the New Mexico Landscape (2010), a video piece with chamber music score.