Georgia O’Keeffe stories A reading by Margaret Wood from her new book

Working with famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe and learning the rustic ways of northern New Mexico filled author Margaret Wood with stories that she shares in her newest book, O’Keeffe Stories, a limited-edition production by the Press at the Palace of the Governors. Wood reads from the book on Friday, May 25, at 6 pm in the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium. The event is free, and the books, printed by letterpress on fine paper and bound by hand, will be available for purchase at $225.

A $19.95 trade edition is being published by the Museum of New Mexico Press and will be available in July.

As a young woman, Wood was a care-giver to O’Keefe for five years near the end of the artist’s life, from 1977 to 1982. Together, the women shared the commonplace experiences of gardening, food preparation, nighttime reading, walks toward the cliffs of Ghost Ranch, and conversations about the past and the present. The stories in her memoir read as quiet meditations on the life paths of two women, a world-renowned artist and someone just finding her way in a new environment and culture.

Margaret Wood has also written A Painter’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Kitchen of Georgia O’Keeffe (Museum of New Mexico Press). Since 1988, she has been a speech-language pathologist in Santa Fe with a focus on the elderly. She also writes short stories.

Download high-resolution photos of Margaret Wood and of the book by clicking on "Go to related images" at the bottom of this page.

The Santa Fe New Mexican covered the printing of the book. You can find the newspaper’s story here: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/localnews/Memories-of-O-Keeffe–printed-with-care.

The Palace Press is a working exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum. Besides displaying presses from the early days of New Mexico printing, along with a recreation of artist Gustave Baumann’s print studio, it produces award-winning books and poetry broadsides in celebration of the written word. For the Palace Press’s version of O’Keeffe Stories, master artist Barry Moser created a woodcut image of O’Keeffe. Moser, a longtime fan of the press, is the creator of the highly praised Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, on display in the museum’s exhibit, Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible.

Phone number for publication: 505-476-5200