artst.org | Georgia O'keefe | Biography


Biography of Georgia O'Keefe

Portrait of Georgia O'keefe in 1918, by Alfred Steiglitz
Portrait of Georgia O'keefe in 1918, by Alfred Steiglitz

One of the most respected and widely regarded American artists of the of last century, Georgia O'keefe was a modernist painter who cannot be tied down to that period -- her work seems as timeless, vibrant and inspiring as it was fifty years ago.

Georgia O'keefe was born November 15 1887 on a dairy farm in Sun Prarie, Wisconsin. From a very early age she was drawn to art and was encouraged in the discipline by her parents; by the time she left high school she was convinced she wanted to be an artist. Studying at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905 and the Art Students League in New York, she drew considerable praise from her instructors but was discouraged and uninspired by their emphasis on realism and "perfection" in painting. She longed for a style of her own, to capture in her paintings the feelings and gracefulness she saw in the world.

In 1915, studying for a teachers degree in South Carolina, O'keefe met and took classes with Arthur Dow, an art enthusiast who worshipped oriental art rather than european art. Dow helped expose Georgia's mind to the possibility for different styles of art. "It was Arthur Dow who affected my start, who helped me to find something of my own."

Abstraction IX, 1916
Abstraction IX, 1916

It was then that she began work on her series of small charcoal abstractions, which she was pleased with and sent to a friend in New York. The drawings by chance found their way into the hands of Alfred Stieglitz, an obsessive photographer and influential participant in certain New York art circles. The energy and confidence of these drawings from this "mystery woman" so excited Steiglitz that in 1916 he exhibited them at his Manhattan art gallery without her even knowing.

Two years later, Steiglitz had been introduced to O'keefe and had persuaded her to move to New York and devote herself to painting. Shortly therefater they fell in love and began a romance and artistic collaboration that would last for many years. The story of Georgia O'keefe is inextricably tied up with the life of her husband and partner -- and in many ways Steiglitz did for photography what she did for the american painting, championing photography as a display of personal expression.

Both Steiglitz and O'keefe were artists eager to take their various art forms in a new direction. They lived and worked together, regularly showing their new work in the gallery. For Steiglitz, O'keefe was a muse, and the many portraits he took of her are known to be some of his best work.

Gray Line with Black, Blue and Yellow, 1923
Gray Line with Black, Blue and Yellow, 1923

Moving between New York City and upstate Lake George,NY, O'keefe was inspired by the beauty of both the rural landscape and the less immediate beauty of the industrialized city. The nineteen twenties were a time of love for O'keefe. Her flower paintings were filled with bright, expressive color and erotic passion. Critics were quick to interpret her paintings as expressions of the feminine, and see her flowers as yonic symbols.

O'keefe was able to paint abstract, intensely personal paintings without giving in to the self absorbtion of many other modernists -- her paintings were bold and modern, but they were also very aesthetically beautiful. She often sought to capture the unique beauty of the american landscape. Her paintings of flowers were both carefully precise in detail as well as abstract, with soft gradients and patches of color.

Pelvis with Shadow and the Moon, 1943
Pelvis with Shadow and the Moon, 1943

In 1929 O'keefe took a trip with her friend Becca Strand to New Mexico, first to Santa Fe and then to Taos. She fell in love with the location -- the bright sunshine and open skies. She would journey there annually from then on, and later make it her home. The New Mexico landscapes and still lifes, especially the paintings of brilliant white parched animal bones set against deep blue sky, are as highly regarded as her earlier flowers.

By the nineteen forties, Georgia O'Keefes stature in the art world had grown tremendously. In 1946 she was given a one-woman exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the first ever from that museum for a female artist. When Steiglitz died in 1946, O'keefe moved to New Mexico permanently to work on her paintings in peace and solitude. She captured in these later paintings the long cloudscapes of the southwestern desert, the adobe walls of her home in taos, and the shadows and natural curves of the bleached animal bones.

By the end of the nineteen sixties, retrospectives all around the country and the world had cemented O'keefe as one of the most admired painters of her time. However, by then her eyesight had failed to the point that she could barely see past her canvas. It was then that she befriended a local potter named Juan Hamilton, who assisted her with household chores and helped her with her art work. Together they completed and published in 1976 a book about her art called Georgia O’Keeffe, and a companion video project where she talked about her feelings on art (see quotations).

Okeefe continued to draw charcoal sketches for herself up until 1984. That year she moved in to Hamilton's home to be closer to medical facilities. She died on March 6, 1986.

The brief biography above was written by me, James Cooper. Here are some biographical websites out there with more in-depth detail on the life of Georgia O'keefe:

Also check out these pages on this site:

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