The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is presenting Georgia O’Keeffe: Architecture, a groundbreaking exhibition running September 11, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It is the first exhibition ever devoted entirely to O’Keeffe’s lifelong engagement with the built environment, gathering nearly 40 works created between the 1920s and 1960 that reveal a lesser-known side of one of America’s most celebrated artists.
A new look at a legendary artist
Generations of visitors know Georgia O’Keeffe for her luminous flowers and sweeping desert landscapes. This exhibition invites them to see her differently: through the buildings she painted. The show traces three distinct viewpoints across decades of her work, from the skyscrapers of Manhattan — including East River from the 30th Story of the Shelton Hotel (1928) — to weathered rural barns and the sun-soaked adobe walls of her New Mexico homes. At the heart of the exhibition is Stables (1932), a treasured work from the DIA’s own permanent collection.
Plan your visit
- Dates: September 11, 2026 – January 3, 2027
- Venue: Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202
- Admission: Adults $30 ($20 for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties); youth ages 6–17 $15 ($10 for tri-county residents)
- Free days: Tri-county residents visit free on Sunday, October 25, 2026, and Friday, December 11, 2026, thanks to the museum millage
- Hours: Tuesday–Thursday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Mondays
- Info: dia.org, (313) 833-7900
The exhibition is organized as part of the DIA’s long-running Guests of Honor series, which brings extraordinary works from around the world to Detroit. It arrives as the museum’s other major presentations continue: Guests of Honor: Frederic Church’s Cotopaxi runs through October 25, 2026, and Reimagine African American Art is now open.
While you are there
Allow time for the museum’s most iconic treasure: Rivera Court, where Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals (1932–33) cover an entire courtyard. With a collection of more than 65,000 works ranking among the top six in the nation, the DIA offers an art experience few American museums can match.
Photo: Michael Barera, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Detroit Institute of Arts).
