Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), American artist, with homes and studios in New Mexico.

Edith Evans Asbury (1910-2008) was an American journalist and newspaper reporter. She received bachelor's and master's degrees in American History from the University of Tennessee, and worked for the Knoxville News Sentinel before moving to New York City in 1937. Asbury was associated with a few newspapers and the New York City Housing Authority before joining the metropolitan staff of the New York Times in 1952. Primarily known for her investigative reporting on social welfare topics such as school desegregation, birth control, and issues impacting the elderly, Asbury continued to write articles on culture and travel for the Times after she retired in 1981. She was married three times: to Joseph Evans in the 1930s, to the journalist and author Herbert Asbury (1889-1963) from 1945 to 1958, and to Robert E. Garst (1900-1980), an assistant managing editor of the New York Times, from 1971 until his death.

The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, and ephemera documenting the relationship between Georgia O'Keeffe and her friend Edith Evans Asbury, which began in 1957 when Asbury wrote to request an interview with the artist for a profile she was preparing. Series I (in Box 1) consists of four folders of their correspondence, with carbon copies of some of Asbury's letters, and ends in 1978 after two decades of visits and gifts had been exchanged. Subjects covered in the letters vary widely, but include comments on literature sent and read, gardening, weather, household projects, and O'Keeffe's thoughts about the painter Mark Rothko and on her own exhibitions. In December 1974 O'Keeffe sent a book manuscript to Asbury for comment; the manuscript is not present, but Asbury's notes and reply are, along with two letters from O'Keeffe to Robert Garst (1976, 1978) thanking him for his advice on the project. The collection also includes two letters (1963) from Garst to Asbury, and two letters (1968, 1970) to Asbury from O'Keeffe's sister Claudia. The series ends with photocopies of letters from 1979 sent between the New York Times, various lawyers, and Asbury concerning statements regarding O'Keeffe's relationship with Juan Hamilton that were published in the Times, and ended Asbury's friendship with O'Keeffe.

Series II (in Boxes 1 and 2) contains eleven folders holding more than 225 snapshot photographs of O'Keeffe, Asbury, and others, taken while Asbury was visiting or traveling with O'Keeffe and others in New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas in the 1960s. The informal photographs show the artist alone, with friends, and with pets at her homes and studios in Abiquiu and at Ghost Ranch; she is also seen at a beauty parlor and while hiking, shopping, driving, and boating. One set of prints captures O'Keeffe relaxing at Ghost Ranch with her friend Mangus (Mike) Harding and the photographer Todd Webb. Sets of both black and white and color snapshots document O'Keeffe's activities at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, during the installation of her 1966 exhibition there, accompanied by her manuscript list of paintings for the exhibit; a second group was taken after the exhibition moved to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, later that year. Negatives are present for most of the photographs.

Series III (in Box 2) contains three folders: Asbury's airline ticket stubs and travel ephemera (1963-1964); O'Keeffe's filled-in data form for the serial Current Biography (1964) with a portrait photograph by Rick Stafford; and two of Asbury's articles on O'Keeffe cut from the New York Times, a profile (1968) and an obituary (1986).

Asbury, Edith Evans, 1910-2008 > Portraits.

Harding, Magnus Swenson, 1921-1993 > Portraits.

O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986 > Homes and haunts > New Mexico.

O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986 > Portraits.

Webb, Todd > Portraits.

Amon Carter Museum of Western Art > Pictorial works.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston > Pictorial works.

Art, Modern > 20th century.

Artists > United States > 20th century.

Journalists > United States > 20th century.

Painters > United States > 20th century.

Abiquiu (N.M.) > Description and travel.

Abiquiu (N.M.) > Pictorial works.

New Mexico > Pictorial works.

Black-and-white negatives.

Color negatives.

Photographic prints.

Artists.

Journalists.

Painters.