Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe was a pioneer of American Modernism. Her sensual paintings, from the early 1900s to her death in 1986, reflect the promise and pitfalls of the 20th Century.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings explore the parallels between bodies and landscapes.

Born in 1887, the work Georgia created was a far cry from the art she grew up with. She focused on intuition and emotion, traits that were considered romantic, feminine ideals. She championed women’s experiences in art, and also their rights in society as a member of the National Women’s Party.

Black Place, Grey and Pink, 1949

Today there are debates about her appropriation of indigenous land and aesthetics in her art: 

This depiction of the entire region as empty really helped to promote what you’re describing as this space for people to just move right in, a place that is unoccupied, which is of course not true.

Patricia Marroquin Norby and Matthew Martinez, The Met

As a pioneer of American Modernism, Georgia’s work is a true reflection of the many promises and pitfalls of the early 20th century.

Series I White & Blue Flower Shapes, 1919

Autumn Trees - The Maple, 1924

Abstraction, 1945


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