Can an artist's work be reduced to gender and sexuality? This is the question that has been debated for decades when it comes to the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe (1886-1887), one of the best-known American Modernist artists. This painter primarily worked with subject matter from nature, such as flowers, animal bones, and landscapes from West Texas and New Mexico. She also painted cityscapes. In addition to her unique style, O'Keeffe was a well-respected female professional in a male-dominated industry at that time. She paved the way for other talented women in visual arts.
Georgia O'Keeffe, a photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1918. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).
Modernism was a movement in art, architecture, film, music, and literature that began in the early 20th century. This movement pushed boundaries, sought innovation, and was inspired by urban life and technological progress.
Georgia O'Keeffe: Biography
Georgia O'Keeffe was born in 1887 in Wisconsin. She grew up on a farm with her six siblings. Attending art lessons—both painting and drawing—throughout her early life, O'Keeffe chose to pursue a career as an artist. She was accepted to the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by her studies at the Art Students League in New York City. She began to win art contests. For instance, O'Keeffe received the William Merritt Chase Prize in 1908. Despite these accomplishments, the young woman was concerned that she could not pursue realism. Therefore, she became a commercial artist based in Chicago.
Meeting the educator Arthur Wesley Dow in 1912, O'Keeffe discovered Modernist thinking. This type of thinking rejected the necessity of realist representation. Instead, Dow and other theorists believed that art should depict thoughts and feelings using color and composition. One of those methods was inspired by the Japanese system called notan—the harmony of light and dark shades. Dow's ideas truly resonated with O'Keeffe. She decided to return to her dream of being a professional painter. For a time, O'Keeffe worked at a public school in Texas (1912-1914). However, she was able to experiment with her newly-found artistic vision.
Georgia O'Keeffe: Becoming an Artist
In 1915, O'Keeffe began to pursue abstraction in art while teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina. She used the lessons she learned from Dow to create truly unique images. O'Keeffe's medium of choice was oil paint and, occasionally, watercolor throughout her life. In this way, she joined the ranks of Modernist European and North American painters. Her notable works from this period include No. 3–Special (1915). By 1916, O'Keeffe participated in an art show in New York City at the well-known gallery 291. The photographer Alfred Stieglitz ran this gallery and helped O'Keeffe with a solo exhibition a year later.
Modern art: Modern art sometimes moved away from the realistic, figurative representation starting from the late 19th century. This type of art often involved a certain degree of abstraction and focused on thought and feeling as a form of expression.
Abstraction: Abstract art reduces recognizable objects to shapes, colors, and lines. Alternatively, abstract art may depict thoughts and feelings unrelated to physical objects.
Figurative art: Figurative art is representational. It depicts recognizable objects.
In 1916, O'Keeffe headed the art department at the West Texas State Normal College. The striking and unique West Texan landscape, especially the Palo Duro Canyon, became an inspiration for the artist. She produced a series of works at this time, including Sunrise and Little Clouds II (1916) and Light Coming on the Plains No. II (1917).
Georgia O'Keeffe, Series I, No. 3, 1918. Source: Wikiart (U.S. public domain).
Georgia O'Keeffe: Art
O'Keeffe moved to New York City in 1918. It was there that her career indeed took off. Eventually, she started living with Alfred Stieglitz even though he had a wife. In 1924, the pair got married after Stieglitz's divorce. Stieglitz was not just her husband but also her advocate. He promoted O'Keeffe's work for thirty years. As a result, O'Keeffe held regular exhibitions at the American Place, the Anderson Galleries, and the Intimate Gallery. However, Stieglitz promoted her art as an expression of gender and sexuality. He even photographed O'Keeffe, at times undressed or nude, and used these images to advertise her painting. Stieglitz was a skilled photographer, and his advertising strategy gave O'Keeffe financial independence and the ability to create.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Grey Line With Black, Blue And Yellow (1923).Source: Wikiart (public domain, U.S.).
By the mid-1920s, O'Keeffe shifted her style to depict recognizable figurative imagery but never abandoned abstraction completely. Her approach combined Modernist theories and specific aspects of East Asian minimalism. The painter was also influenced by photography. This influence is evident in how she chose to crop her paintings. At this time, O'Keeffe delivered iconic works such as Radiator Building—Night, New York (1927). Skyscrapers in her paintings are a symbol of a fast-paced, urban lifestyle.
Minimalism: Minimalist art uses very simple forms.
Starting from 1929, the artist began to spend more time away from New York City, particularly in New Mexico. Eventually, she permanently moved there in 1949 after her husband's death. That state was as inspiring as West Texas, and she created many landscape paintings. The painter had two residences in New Mexico, including the famous Ghost Ranch—a dude ranch. O'Keeffe's landscape paintings from this period were an important contribution to distinctly American art depicting the scenery native to the United States.
Dude ranch: a ranch that is geared toward tourism and includes activities like horseback riding.
In the 1950s, O'Keeffe created artworks based on her international travels to Peru and Japan. She also started to focus on depicting the sky. In the 1970s, O'Keeffe's eyesight began to fail, but she persisted with the help of assistants. She died at the age of 98 in a place she loved so much—New Mexico.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Radiator Building – Night, New York (1927). Source: Wikiart (public domain, U.S.).
Georgia O'Keeffe: Paintings
Georgia O'Keeffe left a large body of work over several decades. Some of her paintings include:
- Sunrise and Little Clouds II (1916)
- Light Coming on the Plains No. II (1917)
- Music Pink and Blue (1918)
- Series I, No. 3 (1918)
- Red & Orange Streak / Streak (1919)
- Lake George (1922)
- Grey Line With Black, Blue, and Yellow (1922)
- City Night (1926)
- Black Iris (1926)
- Radiator Building—Night, New York (1927)
- Horse's Skull with Pink Rose (1931)
- Ram's Head, White Hollyhock-Hills (1935)
- My Backyard (1937)
- Grey Hills (1941)
- Pelvis IV (1944)
- Church Steeple (1950)
- Patio Door with Green Leaf (1956)
Georgia O'Keeffe: Flowers
Georgia O'Keeffe's close-up flower paintings have often been compared to the female anatomy. Reducing her work to her gender in this way affected its interpretation for decades.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Light of Iris, 1924. Source: Wikiart (fair use).
Georgia O'Keeffe: Skulls
Georgia O'Keeffe mostly drew inspiration from the natural world. Apart from flowers, she painted landscapes and animal skulls. The painter associated animal skulls with the New Mexico and West Texan landscapes, which she loved.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Horse's Skull with Pink Rose, 1931. Source: Wikiart (fair use).
Georgia O'Keeffe: Legacy
Georgia O'Keeffe is an essential artist for two key reasons. First, she created a vast body of pioneering Modernist work. This body of work comprised many natural subjects, such as flowers, animal skulls, landscapes, landscapes, and cityscapes. Her work is instantly recognizable because of her unique style. The paintings depict the scenery native to the United States—whether rural or urban. At the same time, she was a female painter in a male-dominated field. As such, O'Keeffe's work was, at times, subject to interpretation defined by her gender rather than her talent alone. However, her skill, success, and longevity surpassed these limitations. In this sense, O'Keeffe paved the way for other female artists to be judged on the merit of their work rather than their biology and society's gendered expectations.
Georgia O'Keeffe - Key Takeaways
- Georgia O'Keeffe is one of the best-known American painters and one of the pioneering Modernist women artists of the 20th century.
- Her paintings combined abstraction and figurative depictions.
- O'Keeffe's artworks focused on the natural world: flowers, landscapes, and animal bones. She also painted New York City scenery.
- O'Keeffe was married to and promoted by the well-known American photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
- The painter's favorite place in the United States was New Mexico. She was inspired by its unique natural beauty.
- O'Keeffe has been a subject of debate for decades in regard to the role of gender and sexuality in her works.
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