Author Sarah Rovang Explores Georgia O'Keeffe's Surprising Cold War Los Alamos Connection

Georgia O'Keeffe is most closely associated with the stark landscapes of Abiquiú and Ghost Ranch, but author and historian Sarah Rovang spent 90 minutes at Fuller Lodge last Sunday tracing a connection most people never knew existed: the acclaimed modernist painter's relationship with Cold War Los Alamos.

The Los Alamos Public Library hosted Rovang's talk, titled "Georgia O'Keeffe and Cold War Los Alamos," on March 8, 2026, running from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the historic lodge on Trinity Drive. Fuller Lodge, the WPA-era log building that once served the scientists of the Manhattan Project, provided a fitting backdrop for a conversation threading together art history and the atomic age.

Rovang, described by the library as an author and historian, examined what organizers called the "surprising connection" between O'Keeffe and the Cold War-era community that had taken shape in Los Alamos. The library characterized the event as an exclusive talk, and Rovang herself promoted the appearance as an opportunity to explore Cold War Los Alamos and its intersection with one of New Mexico's most celebrated artistic figures.

The talk was previewed in local coverage before the event and drew attention on social media, where the library framed it as an exploration of O'Keeffe's relationship with Cold War Los Alamos specifically, not simply her broader ties to northern New Mexico. That framing points to a more specific and historically layered argument than the familiar narrative of O'Keeffe as a sun-drenched desert recluse.

The Los Alamos Public Library published a description of the talk on its news page on March 14, 2026, six days after the event took place.