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O'Keeffe

Wednesday January 9 1945

Dear Georgia:
 I have been very much troubled thinking of what you said to me today. [[crossed out]] It was not pleasant to have you tell me I had been "sleuthing" for the museum [[/crossed out]] in connection with that Brixey picture. [[crossed out]]Just because[[/crossed out]] I think it would be healthy to get the whole matter straight, I want to tell you as exactly as possible my recollection of our conversation when you told me the price Brixey had paid for your picture.

I don't know precisely when this took place but it must have been over a year ago, that is, before Jim Sweeney came to the museum, probably during autumn 1944. I'd had lunch with you and we were sitting talking afterward.
I said that I felt the Brixey picture was not the ideal one to represent you in the museum collection, that I would prefer to see one of the New Mexico pictures, a skull with landscape beneath or perhaps one of the recent pelvis pictures; would you consider at all the possibility of letting the museum turn in the Brixey picture as part payment for another picture? You said you might. Then I said how much would you want the museum to pay in addition for some important work like, for instance, the "Black Cross" at the Art Institute or the "Deer's Skull and Pedernal" which we had just shown? You said about three thousand dollars, that Brixey had paid six thousand for that picture and that you thought you would want at least three thousand over that.

Truly, Georgia, it would not have occurred to me to ask you what Brixey had paid, (although I see no reason why the museum should not have such information). Donors of pictures supply this information to us for [[crossed out]]our [[/crossed out]] the records. But that's not the point. You and I were discussing a possible museum transaction, talking about however informally, and you gave me no indication that you considered any part of our conversation to be confidential. 

I am upset by any misunderstanding between us, and also by the thought that you may have given others the impression that I have betrayed a confidence. X

Sincerely,