Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe known for her iconic paintings of flowers, stark landscapes, and still lifes was instrumental in the evolution of American modernism, closely connected to European avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. 

Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe, born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin in 1887 as the second of seven children, received early art encouragement from her mother. She took watercolor lessons from a local artist, Sara Mann. O'Keeffe was fortunate to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1905 to 1906, studying under John Vanderpoel.

In 1907, O'Keeffe relocated to New York City, where she enrolled in classes at the Art Students League, taught by William Merritt Chase. Winning a prize for one of her still lifes allowed her to attend the League's summer school in Lake George, New York. During her time in NYC, she frequented Gallery 291's exhibitions. This gallery, owned by Alfred Stieglitz, was one of the few places in the United States showcasing European avant-garde art, exposing O'Keeffe to artists like Auguste Rodin and Henri Matisse. However, she paused her art career pursuit in 1908 for four years, working as a commercial artist in Chicago.

In 1912, Georgia O'Keeffe resumed her focus on art after attending a drawing class at the University of Virginia's summer school. Her teacher, Alon Bement, employed an innovative teaching style heavily influenced by artist Arthur Wesley Dow.

While teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina in 1915, O'Keeffe began to explore Dow's theory of self-discovery through art. She took inspiration from natural forms like ferns, clouds, and waves, creating a series of charcoal drawings that simplified these forms into expressive, abstract combinations of shapes and lines. Upon completing this series, O'Keeffe sent a few of them to her friend Anita Pollitzer, a former classmate. Pollitzer then brought the drawings to the attention of Alfred Stieglitz in January 1916. 

Upon recognizing Georgia O'Keeffe's potential, Alfred Stieglitz initiated a correspondence with her. Unbeknownst to O'Keeffe, he exhibited ten of her charcoal drawings at his Gallery 291. Sending her photographs of the displayed works, marked the beginning of their professional relationship. While continuing her teaching duties, O'Keeffe returned to New York in 1917 to witness her inaugural solo exhibition, organized by Stieglitz at 291. During this period, O'Keeffe and Stieglitz became lovers, an affair which endured until his passing.

In 1918, Stieglitz offered to financially support O'Keeffe for a year, enabling her to reside and focus on painting in New York. Taking a leave of absence from teaching, she devoted herself entirely to her art for the first time. Subsequently, Stieglitz divorced his first wife, and he and O'Keeffe wed in 1924.

Throughout the 1920s, Stieglitz introduced O'Keeffe to his circle of friends and fellow artists, including Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, John Marin, and Paul Strand. Known as the Stieglitz Circle, they were advocates for modernism in the United States. O'Keeffe found profound inspiration in Strand's photography and its ability to function like a magnifying lens, along with Charles Sheeler's Precisionism. These influences led her to create large-scale paintings of natural forms up close, transitioning from watercolors to oil paint during this period. In addition to flowers, O'Keeffe depicted New York skyscrapers and various architectural forms. By the mid-1920s, O'Keeffe had established herself as one of the most notable American artists of her era, with her art beginning to command significant prices.

In 1929, Georgia O'Keeffe's fascination with the New Mexico landscape blossomed when she stayed as a guest at the ranch of renowned arts patron Mabel Dodge Luhan near Taos. Captivated by New Mexico's vistas and rugged terrain, O'Keeffe returned each summer until 1949 to paint. Her works from this period captured the desert's beauty, expansive skies, unique architectural forms, and the bones she collected in the desert. 

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, O'Keeffe's renown continued to rise. She received recognition through two significant retrospectives: the first in 1943 at the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by another in 1946 at the Museum of Modern Art. The latter marked the museum's inaugural retrospective featuring the work of a woman.

In 1949, three years following Alfred Stieglitz's passing, Georgia O'Keeffe relocated to New Mexico. During the 1950s, she created a series of works featuring the architectural elements of her patio wall and door at Abiquiu, one of her residences near Santa Fe. O'Keeffe's travels during this period provided her with ample inspiration for her art. She garnered numerous accolades, including a membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts.

Despite a decline in popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, O'Keeffe experienced a resurgence in her career with a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1970. This event not only revived her artistic path but also introduced her to a new generation of women during the feminist era.

Despite her failing eyesight, O'Keeffe persisted in creating art, working with watercolor, pencil, and clay throughout the 1970s. Even after losing central vision at the age of 84, she continued to paint. Her final paintings featured simple abstract lines and shapes, reminiscent of her early charcoal drawings.

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe holds the distinction as the first museum in the United States solely dedicated to a female artist. Its research center further supports the study of modern American art by offering significant fellowships to scholars in the field. 

Georgia O'Keeffe's Art Style

Rather than aligning herself with a specific artistic movement, Georgia O'Keeffe delved into abstracting motifs from nature. Her approach involved working in series, blending abstraction and realism to highlight nature's fundamental forms. While some of her works are meticulously detailed, others strip away what she deemed unnecessary to concentrate on shape and color.

Georgia O'Keeffe integrated techniques from various artists, particularly drawing inspiration from Paul Strand's photographic cropping. She was among the first to apply this method to painting, creating highly detailed yet abstract close-ups of uniquely American objects.

O'Keeffe's art remained rooted in representation through meticulous observation of nature, experimentation with scale, and nuanced use of line and color, all while pushing artistic boundaries. Particularly from the 1940s through the 1960s, her art diverged from the mainstream. During this time, she stood out as one of the few artists who maintained a commitment to representation, while others explored non-representation or abandoned painting altogether.