Georgia O’Keeffe, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 1960
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) remains one of the most influential figures in 20th-century art, a painter whose work has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries to enchant and inspire generations of artists and art enthusiasts. Her life and work, intertwined with audacity, freedom, and a profound connection to nature, represent an essential chapter in American art history.
Georgia O’Keeffe, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz, 1918.
Born into a family of farmers in Wisconsin, from a young age, Georgia O’Keeffe showed a predisposition for art, fueled by the expansive prairies and vast landscapes surrounding her childhood. “Where I was born and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest” she wrote, emphasizing the transformation of her surroundings into vibrant and pulsating works of art.
Tony Vaccaro, Georgia O’Keeffe with cheese, 1960.
Her artistic journey took her from private drawing lessons to courses at the Art Students League of New York, where her encounter with Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 Gallery would change the course of her life. “I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me” she confessed, reflecting on her desire to freely express her artistic sensations.
In 1918 she moved to New York and spent her days developing her distinctive style.
Inspired by the work of painter Arthur W. Dow, her paintings are based on a rigorous arrangement of various elements: colors, shapes, lines, volumes, and spaces are used to create a new type of figurative compositions: “A good painting is not dependent on representing an object such as a tree or a hill, it is essential that the arrangement of its lines and colors says something” she reflected, revealing her deep connection with the very essence of painting.
Georgia O’Keeffe, White Flowers.
Moving to New Mexico (1929) marked a turning point in O’Keeffe’s life and art, where the vastness of the desert landscape captured her imagination and fueled her creativity. “I painted these objects to express what they meant to me, the vastness and miracle of the world in which I live” she confessed, revealing her deep affinity with the land and its elements. Here, O’Keeffe found a sense of belonging and transformed her home in Abiquiu into a refuge and space for her art.
Georgia O’Keeffe, Grey Blue & Black-Pink Circle, 1929.
Despite the challenge of macular degeneration (an eye disease that can blur your central vision) in the later years of her life, O’Keeffe continued to work with fervor and passion, exploring new expressive forms such as ceramic art and traveling the world in search of inspiration. Her artistic legacy continues to resonate in the souls of those who contemplate her works, while her figure has become an American icon, cited and honored in television series such as Breaking Bad, Grace and Frankie, and The Sopranos. “No one can look at one of her paintings without being deeply moved” reflected Ansel Adams, a famous friend and photographer. Through her paintings, Georgia O’Keeffe remains an authentic and powerful voice of nature, an artist whose work continues to touch and inspire generations to come.
Georgia O’Keeffe, Black Mesa landscape (New Mexico), 1930.
