O'Keeffe, Georgia

Two autograph letters signed, 6 pages and 3 pages (11 x 8 1/2in.; 278 x 215 mm), Lake George, New York, 12 July 1930 and 25 November 1933,(postmarks) to George Bradshaw, each with an autograph envelope; very slight browning of one letter.

Mood swings and isolation. O'Keeffe writes to George Bradshaw, a frequent contributor of short stories to the Saturday Evening Post. Bradshaw shared a home in Bermuda with fellow writers Noel Bush and David Burnham. They graciously offered O'Keeffe the cottage in the back of the property in her capacity as a fellow artist. O'Keeffe eagerly accepted and made a number of trips to Bermuda in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Inspired by the flora, O'Keeffe painted at least a dozen works during her Bermuda sojourns.

In her letter of 12 July 1930, O'Keeffe describes her mental and physical state: "I am no good—I get a little better then get down again like that last week in Bermuda . . . I don't think much of my best these days—t makes me cross— drive into the woods on back roads and walk there alone or sit or lie and look up into the trees alone . . . ." Her letter of 25 November 1933 records better spirits: "I am in the country—till at Lake George . . . much snow for this time of year—and you down tanning in Bermuda. Tell'em I like it here— am alone—and it is very good—and since I am alone and it is good and cold I feel much better."

Together with: Typed letter signed, 1 page (11 x 81/2in.; 278 x 251), Abiquiu, New Mexico, 23 February 1983, to George Perutz, requesting letters and sale records relating to purchasers of her paintings, with the response of Perutz typed at the bottom of her letter stating most of what she wants he has thrown away.