2026 Bauder lecture
Through the Long Desert: Georgia O'Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright
In-Person Lecture, Conversation, and Book Signing with Sarah Rovang
Sunday, April 12, 2026 | 4:00pm EDT
Cranbrook Art Museum deSalle Auditorium
39221 Woodward Avenue
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
Presented by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright were neither competitors nor direct collaborators. Yet these romantic heroes of twentieth-century art and architecture largely operated in parallel. Based on her seminal new book, Through the Long Desert: Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright, Sarah Rovang’s lecture will weave together their life stories, examining newly discovered links between them and, in the process, offering a fresh perspective on their work, their intermittent yet poignant friendship, and their closeness to the desert.
Rovang's lecture at Cranbrook will also consider O'Keeffe's broader intellectual and creative engagement with architects and designers following Wright's death in 1959, including several notable Cranbrook artists such as Charles and Ray Eames. These interdisciplinary friendships played a remarkable role in shaping both O'Keeffe's domestic environments in New Mexico and her evolving understanding of the relationship between art and architecture during her late career.
Admission is Free
Seating is Limited; Advance Registration Required
Through the Long Desert: Georgia O'Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright Book and Lecture Registration
$65 (plus sales tax) for one Book and one Free Lecture Attendance
Book orders must be received by March 27 to guarantee delivery before the April 12 lecture. Book proceeds support Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. Additional book details are noted below.
MORE about the speaker
Sarah Rovang is a writer born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds a PhD in the history of art and architecture from Brown University. She has taught at the University of Michigan and held the Society of Architectural Historians’ H. Allen Brooks Postdoctoral Travelling Fellowship as well as a research fellowship at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Rovang is currently based in Santa Fe, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and dog and works as a program evaluator for the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Sarah Rovang’s new book, Through the Long Desert: Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright, is a richly illustrated exploration of newfound connections between American cultural icons Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright. This groundbreaking volume places the artist and architect side by side, shedding light on their lives, work, and mutual love of the American desert.
Starting in 1933, O’Keeffe and Wright exchanged roughly two dozen letters in which they expressed admiration for one another but also their passion for the places that informed them—many of which they had in common. Both were born in rural Wisconsin and built their careers in Chicago and New York. However, both sought inspiration and fulfillment in places farther afield, including in Japan and the desert landscape of the American Southwest. Juxtaposing images highlighting shared aspects of their individual biographies and work, this unique take on American creative expression explores the nature of artistic friendship and the idea of “home.” Rovang’s text gives rich context to the allure and romance of her visual subject, offering readers new ways to appreciate O’Keeffe’s and Wright’s monumental contributions to American culture.
Through the Long Desert: Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright is published by Rizzoli Electa (September 2025, hardcover, 320 pages).
about the Bauder lecture series
This program represents the tenth installment of the Center's annual Lillian and Donald Bauder Lecture. Established in 2016 through a generous gift from Cranbrook President Emerita Dr. Lillian Bauder and her late husband Donald Bauder, this endowed lecture series allows the Center to bring to campus speakers of national significance whose work intersects with the history, collections, and legacy of Cranbrook and the work of Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
- 2017: The Revenge of the Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter (2016). David Sax (Author, Journalist).
- 2018: Unpacking Frank Lloyd Wright's Archive and Career. Barry Bergdoll (Columbia University Professor of Art History and MoMA Curator).
- 2019: Conservation Matters: The Work of the Getty Conservation Institute. Tim Whalen (Director of the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles).
- 2020: "Cars: Accelerating the Modern World." Brendan Cormier (Senior Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum). The Center's first virtual lecture, available here.
- 2021: Unsettling Landscapes at Cranbrook: Histories of Indigenous Communities, the Japanese Experience, and Suburban Segregation. Sarah Anthony, Bonnie Clark, Gregory Fioritto, Eric Hemenway, Mika Kennedy, John Powes, and Thomas Sugrue. Virtual lectures are available to watch here.
- 2022: Complicating Collections at Cranbrook: Representations of a Confederate General, The Crusades, and Native Americans. Ned Blackhawk, Jennifer Borland, Mark Crain, and Alex von Tunzelmann. Virtual lectures are available to watch here.
- 2023: Experiencing Olmstead: The Enduring Legacy of Frederick Law Olmstead's North American Landscapes. Charles Birnbaum (President, CEO, and Founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C.).
- 2024: Building a Social Contract: Modern Workers' Houses in Early Twentieth-Century Detroit. Michael McCulloch (Associate Professor of Architecture at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan).
- 2025: Birding While Black. J. Drew Lanham, PhD. (Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina).
A visionary leader, Dr. Lillian Bauder served as Cranbrook's President and Chief Executive Officer from 1983 to 1996, a period during which she not only developed Cranbrook's first communitywide strategic plans but also created a master plan that ultimately led to the building of the Vlasic Early Childhood Center, the Williams Natatorium, the Academy of Art's New Studios Building, and the expansion of the Institute of Science. In 1996, Dr. Bauder became Vice President of Masco Corporation, a position she held until she retired in 2007. A 2014 recipient of Cranbrook's prestigious Founder's Award, Dr. Bauder now resides in Columbia, Maryland.
LECTURE LOCATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Cranbrook Art Museum is accessed through Cranbrook's main entrance at 39221 Woodward Avenue. Free parking is available on the east side of the Art Museum and in the parking deck located midway between Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Institute of Science. Attendees that would like access to the Art Museum's barrier-free entrance (through the New Studios Buildings) will need to make advance arrangements with the Center the week before the lecture by emailing center@cranbrook.edu.
For additional information in advance of the lecture, please call the Center at 248.645.3307. For information and assistance on the afternoon of the lecture, please call the Art Museum's Front Desk at 248.645.3320.
BOOK AND PICK UP INFORMATION
The “Free Lecture Registration and Pre-Paid Book” option ($65, plus sales tax) includes free registration for one lecture attendee and one pre-paid copy of the book Through the Long Desert: Georgia O’Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright.
The book will be available for pick up at the lecture on Sunday, April 12. The Center will not be selling additional copies of the book at the lecture; the book must be ordered and pre-paid in advance. Regretfully, shipping the book is not available through the Center. If you cannot attend the lecture, signed copies of books ordered in advance will be available for pick up after the lecture at Cranbrook House. Book proceeds support the programs of Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
SERVICE ANIMAL POLICY
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research is glad to accommodate visitors accompanied by service animals, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), on its tours and at its lectures, including those at Cranbrook Art Museum. Under the ADA, a “service animal” is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. Regretfully, we cannot accommodate visitors accompanied by emotional support animals or pets.
Visitors who will be accompanied by service animals are welcome to call the Center at 248.645.3307 in advance of the lecture so that we may address any questions or concerns.
PHOTO CREDITS
Banner image: Detail of Through the Long Desert: Georgia O'Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright Book Cover. Photography Courtesy of Rizzoli Electa.
Through the Long Desert: Georgia O'Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright Book Cover. Photography Courtesy of Rizzoli Electa.
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1918. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation.
Dr. Sarah Rovang. Photography Courtesy of Sarah Rovang.
Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West Office, Scottsdale Arizona March 3, 1958. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural and Fine Art Library, columbia University, New York). 6007.0620. Photograph by John Engstead.
Dr. Lillian Bauder. Photography Courtesy of Howard Community College Website.
Taliesin West. Photography Courtesy of Sarah Rovang.