Ladies Who Lit Meetup at AIC to explore "Georgia O'Keeffe: My New Yorks"

Join Ladies Who Lit at The Art Institute of Chicago to explore Georgia O'Keeffe: My New Yorks together, equipped with insights on the artist's life and practice gleaned from our current LWL read, Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe, by Dawn Tripp.

This is not a formal guided tour, but rather an opportunity for us to guide each other through the exhibition as a community of literary and art enthusiasts! The AIC offers free general admission to Illinois residents on Thursday evenings from 5–8 PM. Thanks to the AIC's generous partnership with LWL for this event, tickets to the special exhibition (normally $10) will be comped for the first 15 guests to RSVP.

LWL founder Kaylen Ralph will be stationed on the steps of The AIC's Modern Wing entrance (159 E Monroe St) for ticket retrieval from 6:30-6:45pm and the museum closes at 8pm.

Famed for her images of flowers and Southwestern landscapes, Georgia O’Keeffe spent several years exploring the built environment of New York City with brush in hand. The artist first moved to the city’s newly built Shelton Hotel in 1924, then the tallest residential skyscraper in the world, and its soaring heights inspired a five-year period of energetic experimentation, across media and at a variety of scales, with subject matter, form, and perspective.

Ladies Who Lit is a Chicago-based book club that celebrates writing by women. Book discussions serve as an opportunity to engage with related, contemporary cultural events throughout the city. Regardless of gender identity or expression, the LWL community is open to everyone.

This is not a love story. If it were, we would have the same story. But he has his, and I have mine.
In 1916, Georgia O’Keeffe is a young, unknown art teacher when she travels to New York to meet Stieglitz, the famed photographer and art dealer, who has discovered O’Keeffe’s work and exhibits it in his gallery. Their connection is instantaneous. O’Keeffe is quickly drawn into Stieglitz’s sophisticated world, becoming his mistress, protégé, and muse, as their attraction deepens into an intense and tempestuous relationship and his photographs of her, both clothed and nude, create a sensation.
Yet as her own creative force develops, Georgia begins to push back against what critics and others are saying about her and her art. And soon she must make difficult choices to live a life she believes in.
A breathtaking work of the imagination, Georgia is the story of a passionate young woman, her search for love and artistic freedom, the sacrifices she will face, and the bold vision that will make her a legend.

Building off of the themes of artistic autonomy and self-discovery central to our summer reading of The Paris Novel, Ladies Who Lit is excited to pivot to the life & legacy of Georgia O’Keefe via Dawn Tripp's biographical novel. We are excited to align our reading with the Art Institute of Chicago’s current special exhibition, Georgia O’Keeffe: My New Yorks.

Host or Publisher Kaylen Ralph