Works by art icons Georgia O'Keeffe, Edith Head and Ed Ruscha coming to Oklahoma City

Brandy McDonnell, The Oklahoman

In 2024, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art will spotlight exhibitions featuring works by icons like Oklahoma Cultural Treasure Ed Rusha, painter Georgia O’Keeffe and Oscar-winning costume designer Edith Head.

On Tuesday, the downtown OKC museum announced the Dec. 16 debut of the exhibit "First Look: New to the Museum" and the March 9 opening of the show "Magnificent Beauty: Georgia O’Keeffe and the Art of the Flower."

The newly announced shows will join the newly opened immersive traveling exhibit "Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight" and next summer's "Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer."

OKC Museum of Art's 'First Look' to spotlight Ed Ruscha

Visitors will have the opportunity to view a number of the OKC Museum of Art's latest acquisitions in "First Look: New to the Museum," opening to the public Dec. 16.

The show, which will be displayed through March 17 on the third floor, will range from traditional examples of landscapes, still lifes and portraits to more abstract paintings and sculptures as well as conceptual artworks.

Among the artists who will be prominently featured in "First Look" will be Ruscha, 85, who grew up in OKC and went on to become an innovator in Los Angeles' 1960s art scene.

Acquired by the OKC museum earlier this year, Ruscha's work "LAND USE" exemplifies the "the King of California Cool's" signature style of incorporating commonplace or slang words.

“Ruscha’s distinctive work is sure to be a draw for visitors,” Anderson said. “We’re proud to have this Oklahoma connection represented in 'First Look,' as well as works by former OKC residents Nan Sheets and Alexandra Alaupovic.”

In early 2022, the OKC Museum of Art announced it had acquired for its permanent collection two Ruscha 2020 lithographs— “Turbo Tears" and “Boom Town” — with the latter given as a gift from the artist himself. "The unofficial artist laureate of Los Angeles" recently designed the cover art for The Beatles' final single, "Now and Then."

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt shakes hands with Ed Ruscha after presenting Ruscha with a proclamation and a key city after an artist talk for the exhibit "Ed Ruscha: OKLA" at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center Thursday, June 17, 2021.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt shakes hands with Ed Ruscha after presenting Ruscha with a proclamation and a key city after an artist talk for the exhibit "Ed Ruscha: OKLA" at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center Thursday, June 17, 2021.

OKC Mayor David Holt praised the downtown museum for adding Ruscha's work to its collection.

“Ed Ruscha is an international icon and he is from Oklahoma City. ... I am very excited about these new pieces joining their permanent collection," Holt said in a statement.

"Ed is currently the subject of a blockbuster retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and it is essential that members of our OKC community also have the opportunity to experience his work in his hometown museum. I encourage everyone to stop by to see his amazing paintings and prints right here in downtown OKC.”

"First Look: New to the Museum" will spotlight more than 40 paintings, prints, photographs and more that "help drive the narrative forward as visitors view — and consider —spaces that are real and imagined, familiar and unknown," according to a news release. The exhibit will include works by Ruscha, Alen MacWeeney, Donna Ferrato, Joel Meyerowitz, Ethel Fisher and more.

Georgia O’Keeffe's 1927 oil on canvas painting "Calla Lily (Lily – Yellow No. 2)" is part of the Oklahoma Museum of Art's permanent collection.
Georgia O’Keeffe's 1927 oil on canvas painting "Calla Lily (Lily – Yellow No. 2)" is part of the Oklahoma Museum of Art's permanent collection.

Which Georgia O'Keeffe works are coming to Oklahoma?

"Magnificent Beauty: Georgia O'Keeffe and the Art of the Flower" will be on view on the museum's second floor from March 9 through July 7.

Considered one of the most influential artist of the 20th century, O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is perhaps best remembered for her depictions of flowers, a subject she began exploring in New York in the 1920s. "Magnificent Beauty" will include five works by O'Keeffe, including the museum’s own "Calla Lily (Lily - Yellow No. 2)."

Considered one of the most influential artist of the 20th century, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is perhaps best remembered for her depictions of flowers, a subject she began exploring in New York in the 1920s
Considered one of the most influential artist of the 20th century, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) is perhaps best remembered for her depictions of flowers, a subject she began exploring in New York in the 1920s

The exhibit also will showcase works from West Coast photographer Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) and others

“'Magnificent Beauty: Georgia O'Keeffe and the Art of the Flower' explores how artists, including one of America’s most beloved painters, O’Keeffe, have depicted the flower, and particularly the lily, in striking and thought-provoking ways," Anderson said in an email.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will present "Edith Head: The Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Design," a retrospective featuring costumes Head designed that were worn by stars like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and more in summer 2024.
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will present "Edith Head: The Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Design," a retrospective featuring costumes Head designed that were worn by stars like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and more in summer 2024.

'Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer' coming to OKC Museum of Art in summer 2024

Excitement already is building for the OKC Museum of Art's summer exhibit, "Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer," which will be on view June 22-Sept. 29.

Organized by the museum and presented by The Ann Lacy Foundation, the retrospective will spotlight more than 70 costumes worn by cinematic stars like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Shirley MacLaine, Veronica Lake, Barbara Stanwyck and Kim Novak.

With more than 400 films among her credits, Head (1897-1981) reigned over the costume design departments at Paramount and Universal Studios from the early 1920s to the early 1980s. Head's stunning designs garnered her 35 Academy Award nominations and eight Oscar wins — more than any other woman to date.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will present "Edith Head: The Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Design," a retrospective featuring costumes Head designed that were worn by stars like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and more in summer 2023. Photo provided
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art will present "Edith Head: The Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Design," a retrospective featuring costumes Head designed that were worn by stars like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and more in summer 2023. Photo provided

Anderson said the exhibit has been generating a plenty of buzz behind the scenes as staffers have working on it for the past few years.

"Some of us recognize her name and associate her with some of our favorite films, such as director Alfred Hitchcock’s 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window,' or we know her from the Edna Mode character in Pixar’s 'The Incredibles,'” Anderson said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to be part of people’s summer plans for next year as they join us for this much-anticipated exhibition.”

Immersive 'Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight' on view through spring

The innovative exhibit "Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight" debuted earlier this month, which is Native American Heritage Month. It will be on view on the museum's third floor through April 28.

The Tlingit artist's glass sculptures are exhibited with immersive projections, video and sound to tell an origin story from his southern Alaskan tribe's culture.

Tlingit artist Preston Singletary's 2018 blow and sand-carved glass sculpture "Gooch Shaa (Wolf Woman)" is on view in the exhibit "Preston Singletary: Raven and the Box of Daylight" Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The multi-sensory experience combines glass, video, and audio to tell the story of Raven, a creator figure in Tlingit culture.

Other exhibits now on view at the OKC Museum of Art include "Chihuly Then and Now: The Collection at Twenty," "Paul Reed: Works on Paper" and "Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma."

For more information, go online to https://www.okcmoa.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Georgia O'Keeffe, Ed Ruscha and Edith Head to be spotlighted in OKC

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