Flirting with Georgia O'Keeffe

Swiss cheese was the way to her heart, and her art.

You rarely see Georgia O’Keeffe cracking a smile, much less interacting with sandwich makings, but here she is peering through a slice of Swiss cheese.

Say cheese, Georgia!

That image was snapped in 1960 by the photographer Tony Vaccaro, who was dispatched to New Mexico to shoot the artist for Look magazine. It was windy that day, so they had a picnic in the car. Vaccaro cut her a slice of cheese, handed it into the back seat, and she held it to her eye like a camera’s viewfinder. He pressed the shutter release.

Presto: “Georgia with the Cheese.”

The thing I like most about that photograph, aside from capturing a goofy moment with a serious person…