{"id":3877,"date":"2021-11-15T10:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T10:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shinola.com\/our-stories\/?p=3877"},"modified":"2021-11-15T17:16:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T17:16:23","slug":"a-door-to-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourstories.shinola.com\/our-stories\/a-door-to-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"A Door to Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The Shinola Great Americans Series is proud to present a tribute to the Mother of American Modernism, Georgia O\u2019Keeffe, inspired in part by paintings of her New Mexico home. We look at her life and legacy through the lens of photographer Tony Vaccaro, one of the few to capture the artist at home.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Georgia O\u2019Keeffe with Hat, NM 1960 \u00a9Tony Vaccaro\/Tony Vaccaro Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A BATTLE OF WILLS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Georgia O\u2019Keeffe disdained being photographed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That presented a problem for Tony Vaccaro and the journalist he had traveled to Abiquiu, New Mexico with in 1960. On assignment for Life magazine, they were tasked with profiling the iconic artist at the height of her flourishing career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notoriously private, O\u2019Keeffe ignored them for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But unbeknownst to the Mother of American Modern Modernism, she\u2019d met her match in Vaccaro. The photographer dispatched was anything but average and captured far more of O\u2019Keeffe than she planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born Michelantonio Celestino Onofrio Vaccaro, Tony was drafted to the front lines of the Allied forces during World War II at 18 years old. He applied to be an Army photographer, but was told he was too young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo I am old enough to shoot<\/p>
a gun, but not old enough to<\/p>
shoot a camera?\u201d he thought<\/p>
to himself.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Disgruntled but not discouraged, Private First Class Vaccaro donned his Army fatigues and
went on to revolutionize combat photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vaccaro was efficient and authentic at a time when Army photography was plodding and posed.
Standard-issue cameras were cumbersome, requiring a tripod and only able to shoot one large
slide of film at a time. Most Army war photos were staged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vaccaro, meanwhile, had his own camera. Compact and light, it had a plastic lens, could take a
beating, and carried rolls with 36 exposures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vaccaro snapped in trenches, foxholes, forests, seas, and cities. He captured Omaha Beach
through the buttonhole in his jacket on D-Day. He developed rolls in army helmets filled with
chemicals, pinning them to branches overnight and carrying the negatives in his backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He snapped more than 8,000 photographs during WWII. He could slip into the heart of the
action, and freeze it in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the war ended, Vaccaro bought a Jeep from the Army and travelled Europe, documenting
what he saw along the way. On his return to the United States, he began a legendary fashion
and editorial career, capturing the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sophia Lauren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COURTING GEORGIA O\u2019KEEFFE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It was 1960 when his adventures led to Georgia O\u2019Keeffe\u2019s door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe was a very private person and didn\u2019t want anybody meeting her, especially not a
photographer,\u201d explains Maria Vaccaro, photo archivist and Tony\u2019s daughter-in-law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why did O\u2019Keeffe let Tony in? He had photographed the world\u2019s greatest matador, Manolete.
She was fascinated by bullfighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTalk to me about Manolete,\u201d O\u2019Keeffe said, turning to Tony to address him for the first time.
With that, she opened a door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But she had rules.<\/p>
\u201cDon\u2019t take a color photo<\/p>
of me, ever.\u201d O\u2019Keeffe told<\/p>
Vaccaro. \u201cAnd do not take<\/p>
my art out of my studio.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI only do black and white,\u201d he assured her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next few weeks, O\u2019Keeffe and Vaccaro formed a relationship that mirrored a courtship.
Says Maria: \u201cThey spent days gardening, cooking, cleaning, drinking wine, records playing. And
between all that, Tony was taking photographs of her.\u201d Hundreds of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With time and trust, he was able to get around Georgia\u2019s rules: One of his most well-known
photographs is in color and shows her art outside her studio. O\u2019Keeffe, looking over her
shoulder, stands before a vivid red and yellow abstraction. She and her work are framed by the
sky-blue and bone landscape of New Mexico stretching behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n    \n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AN ARTIST AT HOME<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vaccaro is one of only six people to intimately photograph O\u2019Keeffe, offering a crisp image of an
elegantly aloof artist in her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O\u2019Keeffe\u2019s Abiquiu abode was an extension of the artist. It was her muse, a stark contrast to her
rural Wisconsin childhood and the cityscapes of New York she painted in the 1920s. Between
1952 and 1954, O\u2019Keeffe paid tribute to this fountain of inspiration with an arresting painting:
My Last Door, an abstraction of the entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shinola watch designers and art directors immediately gravitated to My Last Door as the source
of art for the limited-edition Birdy timepiece crafted in her honor. At a glance, the watch dial is
open and mysterious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
With a closer look, the details unfold: The black door has been translated to an ever-so-slightly-
off-kilter calendar aperture. Stepping stones serve as indices. Like O\u2019Keeffe\u2019s work, it\u2019s artfully
abstract, but firmly grounded with a sense of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
November 15 marks 134 years after O\u2019Keeffe\u2019s birth, and to commemorate the occasion,
Shinola and the Georgia O\u2019Keeffe Museum are proud to present this unique celebration of an
iconic American artist\u2019s life, alongside prints of her artwork and a Made-in-the- U.S.A. bandana
inspired by her unique style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Included in the gift set is an image of O\u2019Keeffe in the back of a car, sporting a trademark
western-style hat and bandana. The artist is at ease\u2014and no wonder. It was taken by none
other than Mr. Tony Vaccaro. The photographer generously provided an intimate image of
O\u2019Keeffe from their time together\u2014along with a trove of stories about picnics, walks in the
garden, and the origin of her name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGeorgia is family,\u201d Vaccaro, now 99 years old, explains. And like all families, there are secrets
to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHer grandfather was Georgio Otto \u2013 and that\u2019s why she was named Georgia,\u201d Vaccaro
revealed. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t like this to be known. I knew about this years and years ago but kept it
to myself. But now that I am one year to one-hundred, I am able to reveal\u2014let\u2019s call it\u2014my
knowledge of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That family intimacy is evident in the photographs. Although, as in any family, it wasn\u2019t always
smiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maria Vaccaro has looked through the photographs many times\u2014she knows them like the back
of her hand. She laughs about O\u2019Keeffe, \u201cShe got pissed\u2014you can tell in a few pictures she\u2019s
like, stop already! We\u2019re very lucky he got to capture her this intimately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucky indeed. One man\u2019s perseverance revealed an intimate look at one of the most private and
legendary artists in American history. One could say that it took one Great American to unveil
another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vaccaro went back to Georgia\u2019s house in 2018. Now a museum dedicated to her life, it\u2019s
almost entirely untouched. To the bemusement and surprise of the staff, Vaccaro made himself
at home. He sat down in a chair. Got comfortable. This was, after all, where he and Georgia
had played house, made art. Two of the most extraordinary artists of their lifetimes, under the
roof of a mystical home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast time I was here, this wasn\u2019t a museum,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Shinola Great Americans Series is proud to present a tribute to the Mother of American Modernism, Georgia O\u2019Keeffe, inspired in part by paintings of her New Mexico home. We look at her life and legacy through the lens of photographer Tony Vaccaro, one of the few to capture the artist at home. A BATTLE […]<\/p>\n
Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":3882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Door to Georgia - Our Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ourstories.shinola.com\/our-stories\/a-door-to-georgia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Door to Georgia - Our Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Shinola Great Americans Series is proud to present a tribute to the Mother of American Modernism, Georgia O\u2019Keeffe, inspired in part by paintings of her New Mexico home. 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