“When my eyes began to not see sharply as they had for 80 years and the world began to turn grey, I was bothered and gradually stopped working. In time, I was surprised that this world could sometimes be beautiful in a new way, and began to think — how could I start again and begin to paint this new world.“
Georgia O’Keeffe in a 1970s manuscript about her vision loss
Biography
From her origins on the Wisconsin plains to her death in the New Mexico desert, O’Keeffe’s life and work, which has had a monumental impact on American art, is frequently described as mythic.
She began her formal studies in 1905 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, then studied with William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League of New York.
Feeling constrained by the pressure to “copy nature” in art school, early in her career, O’Keeffe began to work on a series of abstractions based on the ideas of Arthur Wesley Dow. Alfred Stieglitz exhibited these abstractions at his gallery, 291, in Manhattan, which launched O’Keeffe’s professional career. These abstractions were a kind of visual language O’Keeffe had discovered to express her unique truth about the world. They form the foundation of her later work, in which she explored the intersection of representation and abstraction in iconic paintings of flowers, trees, mountains, lakes, bones, and other natural forms.
Her paintings now grace the walls of most major museums.
O’Keeffe’s first signs of macular degeneration may have appeared as early as 1964. As Jeffrey Hogrefe relates in his 1992 biography, she “rounded a curve in the road she was driving from Ghost Ranch on a brilliantly sunny day… and the valley narrowed to a patch of greenery along the river. It felt, she said later, as if a cloud had entered her eyeballs.”
She finished her last unassisted oil paintings in 1972. In one, Black Rock with Blue Sky and White Clouds, a stone dominates the canvas, a sliver of blue sky and clouds behind it. In another, The Beyond, a wide band of darkness at the bottom of the canvas creeps toward the horizon line. Looking at it, one feels that all light will inevitably be engulfed. “My left eye has become much more cloudy,” she wrote in a letter that year, “and it’s as if my right eye is beginning to cloud. I assume I should know there is nothing that could be done about it. Am I correct?”
O’Keeffe sometimes elicited assistance from others when working on her canvases. The summer of 1976, for instance, she directed John Poling, then a handyman at Ghost Ranch, to execute her conception of several works, including From a Day with Juan. When he saw the painting published in ARTnews, he asked for credit. Though she advanced the claim that his “contribution had no artistic significance,” she stopped working with assistance after this event.
Her final works include abstract watercolors that look back to the abstractions she did in 1915-1918. In the last few years of her life, she also worked in clay.
FAQs
Her eye problems began in 1968, and by 1971 macular degeneration caused her to lose all her central vision, leaving her, eventually, with only some peripheral sight. Yet even during these waning years O'Keeffe remained true to the spirit of her art through the life she led.
Who did Georgia O'Keeffe marry? ›
Alfred Stieglitz of Lake George, New York, and Miss Georgia T. O'Keeffe of Lake George, New York, were by [Joseph M. Marini] united in Holy Matrimony according to the ordinance of God and the laws of New Jersey at Cliffside Park on the Eleventh day of December 1924."
What do Georgia O Keeffe paintings symbolize? ›
"It now seems abundantly clear that, in spite of her vehement denials, O'Keeffe meant some of her paintings (not just the flowers) to look vagin*l," Randall writes. "Works such as Abstraction Seaweed and Water - Maine and Flower Abstraction overtly allude to female genitalia."
What was Georgia O'Keeffe's famous quote? ›
“To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage.” “You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.” “I know now that most people are so closely concerned with themselves that they are not aware of their own individuality, I can see myself, and it has helped me to say what I want to say in paint.”
When did Georgia go blind? ›
In 1971 Georgia O'Keeffe began to go blind. She stopped painting in 1972. She died on March 6, 1986, at the age of 98.
What was the last painting of Georgia O Keeffe in 1972? ›
The Beyond, 1972 | The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. The lower third of this piece is covered by a broad band of black. The upper portion of the canvas is filled with several variations of blue; however, a thin stripe of white bisects the blues horizontally.
Who was Georgia O Keeffe's abusive husband? ›
Having been concerned about their relationship for some time before her death, O'Keeffe's family alleged that Hamilton had been manipulative and abusive toward O'Keeffe in her final years and that O'Keeffe believed herself to be married to Hamilton at the time of her death, after signing a document which she could not ...
What did Alfred Stieglitz do until he died? ›
In the final decades of his life, Stieglitz devoted his time chiefly to running his gallery (Anderson Galleries, 1921–25; The Intimate Gallery, 1925–29; An American Place, 1929–46), and he made photographs less and less frequently as his health and energy declined.
What was Georgia O Keeffe's color theory? ›
In her art, she liked the idea of expressing herself through using line, color and shading in a harmonious way. She believed that “colors and shapes make a more definite statement than words.” And therefor created mostly modern abstract paintings.
What are three things that make O'Keeffe unique as an artist? ›
The power of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork derives from her mastery of essential elements of art making: line, color, and composition.
By utilizing a small, ordinary flower to suggest the immensity of nature, O'Keeffe sought to undermine her viewers' habitual ways of looking. As she remarked, “Paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it—I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.”
What was Georgia O Keeffe's legacy? ›
Accomplishments. O'Keeffe incorporated the techniques of other artists and was especially influenced by Paul Strand's use of cropping in his photographs; she was one of the first artists to adapt the method to painting by rendering close-ups of uniquely American objects that were highly detailed yet abstract.
How old was Georgia O'Keeffe when she started painting? ›
Georgia was fascinated with nature and all of its colors and beauty. By the time she was in eighth grade she knew she wanted to be an artist. So, at age 12, she began taking her first art lessons. At the age of 15, Georgia and her family moved to Williamsburg, Virginia.
What was Georgia O Keeffe's painting style? ›
Georgia O'Keeffe (born November 15, 1887, near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, U.S.—died March 6, 1986, Santa Fe, New Mexico) was an American painter who was among the most influential figures in Modernism, best known for her large-format paintings of natural subjects, especially flowers and bones, and for her depictions of ...
What events were important in Georgia O'Keeffe's life? ›
- Nov 15, 1887. Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was born. ...
- Nov 15, 1902. Art education as a child. ...
- May 1, 1905. Graduated from high school. ...
- May 1, 1907. Change of plans... ...
- Jan 1, 1908. O'Keeffe wins first award. ...
- Jan 1, 1912. O'Keeffe teaches. ...
- Jan 1, 1914. O'Keeffe returns to NY. ...
- Oct 1, 1915. O'Keeffe begins to use watercolor.
Among the provided options, it is true that Georgia O'Keeffe wanted women to be referred to as 'artists' rather than 'women artists'.
