When it comes to abstract art, the spectator is everything, not the painter. That is why abstract artists employed brushes, paints, and canvases to shape, color, and question our perceptions of the inner and outer worlds and create magnificent artworks.
Georgia O’Keeffe, a 20th-century American painter, often confronted the critics and art lovers who began to hunt for hidden metaphorical meanings in her artworks, regardless of their true intentions.
Despite her opposition to such hackneyed interpretations of her paintings, her famed floral shapes remained exclusively interpreted as sexual metaphors due to their resemblance to female genitalia.
Over seven decades, this ingenious woman produced an immensely significant painting body of work. She saw art in the slightest, often overlooked details of life, and she never failed to impress us with her ability to capture the emotion and power of those objects with her painted strokes.
With her close-up still lifes, canvases of enormous flowers, and stark landscapes, O’Keeffe established herself as one of the first and most prominent American modernists, dubbed the “mother of American modernism.”
Georgia O’Keeffe is best known for her paintings of enormous flowers, yet they only account for a small portion of her work. Landscapes, leaves, rocks, shells, bones, and even skyscrapers got lost in the frantic pursuit of her flowers.
Despite O’Keeffe’s desire for her work to be considered genderless and her denial that her paintings were sexual in any way, the association between blossoms and feminine body persists to this day.
Interesting Facts About Georgia O’Keeffe
photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
Georgia O’Keeffe’s (1887-1986) mesmerizing floral paintings have become so deeply ingrained in American culture that they have often overshadowed her other notable achievements.
Brush up on some of the artist’s lesser-known facts, beautiful portraits, and now-famous quotes for a more in-depth portrait that goes beyond the flowers.
Lovers to spouses: O’Keeffe And Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz, a well-known photographer and gallery owner, was first smitten by O’Keeffe’s work before falling head over heels in love with her.
Anita Pollitzer, an O’Keeffe friend, gave Stieglitz her charcoals, which sparked a fruitful communication and artistic collaboration between the two.
Their connection progressed, and the two famous twentieth-century artists began their stormy love affair. Stieglitz and O’Keeffe married after he divorced his wife, but their marriage was fraught with infidelity from the start.
The famous artist posed nude for Alfred Stieglitz
Georgia O’Keeffe, who was unknown at the time, posed naked for her paramour, who was already a significant figure in the New York art community.
Stieglitz photographed his muse, who was 24 years his junior, naked in order to promote Georgia’s sexuality and art. Indeed, a sequence of O’Keeffe’s nude photographs caused a public outcry and media frenzy, ushering in the era of the modern, liberated woman.
The 22-year marriage of Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe gave Stieglitz plenty of time to capture intimate portraits of his favorite muse, 300 to be exact.
The couple wrote steamy love letters spanning more than 30 years
Over 25,000 pages of love letters were written between 1915 and 1946 to record the couple’s romance and marriage.
The letters reflect the artist and photographer’s relationship as it evolved from acquaintances to admirers, lovers, and, eventually, husband and wife.
Not only do the letters document their lives, but they also show the indelible impact they had on one another and on modern art.
Georgia O’Keeffe was the original American supermodel
O’Keeffe was one of the greatest female artists of the twentieth century, but she was also one of the most photographed. Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, John Loengard, Bruce Weber, and Irving Penn, among others, photographed her.
O’Keeffe actively participated in shaping her public image, so it’s no surprise that many of her photographer friends included her in their installations and exhibitions.
Her presence, which commanded attention even through camera lenses, continues to inspire new generations of art enthusiasts.
O’Keeffe was a fearless woman in a man’s world
The painter known for spearheading the early development of American modernism despised the label “woman painter,” which many of her contemporaries applied to her.
O’Keeffe was adamant about rejecting all of these titles and worked tirelessly to oppose mainstream masculine discourse. She’s gone as far as dressing in men’s clothes and sporting a short hairdo just to get a reaction.
The mother of American modernism aspired to be recognized as a serious artist even by the standards of the male art establishment. She considered herself to be one of the world’s best painters, regardless of gender.
Georgia O’Keeffe: bisexual or not
O’Keeffe’s androgynous appearance and then-unorthodox behavior sparked rumors about her sexual orientation in the art world.
O’Keeffe was said to have been friends with a number of young women over the years, including Frida Kahlo, a well-known Mexican artist, Maria Chabot, a Native American arts champion, and Rebecca Strand, the wife of photographer Paul Strand.
Georgia O’Keeffe: a protofeminist artist
Although O’Keeffe was not always cooperative with feminist inclinations of the time, her art and personal life reflected the movement.
O’Keeffe was able to make her way in the male-dominated art world of the twentieth century, regardless of whether she blew hot and cold on the question of feminism and floral eroticism.
A backseat of Model-A Ford was the artist’s studio
photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
While living and working in New Mexico, Georgia O’Keeffe enjoyed exploring her surroundings in her trusty Ford Model-A.
She had the car customized to protect herself from the desert creepy crawlies and the scorching New Mexico sun. Despite her love of the outdoors, she would climb inside her converted miniature mobile art studio and continue working.
O’Keeffe quit painting three times
Three times, the prolific artist gave up painting. What are the reasons for this? The length of her stay in the hospital for a severe nervous breakdown and failing eyesight, as well as her family’s financial difficulties.
Despite her illness, she continued to push the boundaries of her art. Even after she went blind, she proceeded to sculpt until her death at the age of 98.
Her art was more than just flowers
O’Keeffe’s stunning enlarged flower paintings of the calla lily, poppy, iris, petunia, canna, and jimson weed make up only 10% of her artistic output.
The remainder consists of desert landscapes, animal skulls, bones, rocks, and shells. She also created a series of paintings of New York skyscrapers as a result of her energizing time in Manhattan.
She never signed her paintings and assumed that people would recognize her unique style.
O’Keeffe holds the record for the most expensive female artist’s painting.
According to her gallery, Georgia O’Keeffe painted over 2029 paintings.
Jimson Weed, White Flower No. 1, a large-scale single blossom by Georgia O’Keeffe, became the most expensive painting by a female artist sold at auction.
Georgia’s masterpiece, which hung on the wall of the White House during President George W. Bush’s presidency, was sold for $44.4 million in 1994.
She is the first woman to have her own retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art.
Georgia O’Keeffe made history in 1946 when she became the first solo female artist to have her own exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
In her honor, Santa Fe established the O’Keeffe Museum, which hosts exhibitions that are either entirely dedicated to her work or combine examples of her work with works by her American modernist peers.
Fossil found in New Mexico was named after Georgia O’Keeffe
In 2006, scientists discovered a 210 million-year-old crocodile relative and named it Effigia okeeffeae, or “O’Keeffe’s Ghost,” in honor of O’Keeffe.
They explained that the decision was made because the fossil was discovered in a stone pit near Georgia’s home in northern New Mexico.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Georgia O’Keeffe was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford in 1977, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the United States.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan also accorded her the prestigious National Medal of Arts. In 1996, the United States Postal Service issued a 32 cent stamp in her honor.
Her 1927 painting Red Poppy is depicted on the stamp.
Mexico was O’Keeffe’s inspiration and eventually her gravesite
In 1949, after her husband died, O’Keeffe relocated to New Mexico permanently.
She found inspiration deep in the American Southwest, where she lived for 35 years, regularly painting its landscapes and the sky around her. From her beloved 21000-acre Ghost Ranch home, she could see Cerro Pedernal, a narrow table mountain.
She referred to the flat-topped mountain as “my private mountain,” and it appears in 28 of her works. After she died, her wish was granted, and her ashes were scattered across the top of Pedernal.
O’Keeffe was a woman of art and style
photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
O’Keeffe made her clothes. Her look was simple and understated, with a gender-neutral color palette. Her go-to color scheme was black and white with a few splashes of other hues.
Her Southwest monastic look influenced a lot of fashion designers. For example, Calvin Klein and Maria Grazie Chiuri based their Dior collection on O’Keeffe’s slightly shamanic style and a signature wide-brimmed hat.
She was a healthy food devotee
O’Keeffe’s diet, like her art, was ahead of its time. She celebrated the wonders of natural ingredients in her kitchen, preferring organic meats and grains, homemade and homegrown.
After numerous awards, famous paintings, and collaborations with world-famous photographers, even her gastronomic side is explored in the cookbook by Robyn Lea.
O’Keeffe was a Chow Chow lover
O’Keeffe developed an attachment to Chow Chow dogs. Throughout her life, she had at least six Chow Chows.
She would explore the rugged terrain of New Mexico with her beloved “puffy-lion dogs” Chia, Bo, Jinga, Inca, and others.
O’Keeffe left $76 million estate to her assistant
She didn’t put down her brushes until 1971 when she lost her central vision.
However, a young and broke ceramic artist, 27-year-old Juan Hamilton, appeared in her peripheral vision and became her confidant and companion. O’Keeffe’s alleged intimate relationship with Juan, who was nearly sixty years her junior, stunned the art world.
Hamilton flatly denied having an affair with his patron. According to him, it was a keen 13-year-long relationship in which he was hired to manage O’Keeffe’s affairs and assist with domestic tasks. O’Keeffe left him a $76 million estate.
Georgia O’Keeffe most inspiring quotes
On the beauty of bones and flowers
“Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small it takes time – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. “
“I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.”
“I like an empty wall because I can imagine what I like on it.” “I hate flowers – I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t.”
“I have picked flowers where I found them – have picked up seashells and rocks and pieces of wood where there were seashells and rocks and pieces of wood that I liked. When I found the beautiful white bones on the desert I picked them up and took them home too. I have used these things to say what is to me the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it.”
“A flower is relatively small… Still in a way nobody sees a flower – so I said to myself – I’ll paint it big.”
“A flower touches everyone’s heart.”
“Whether the flower or the color is the focus I do not know. I do know the flower is painted large to convey my experience with the flower – and what is my experience if it is not the color?”
“Sun-bleached bones were most wonderful against the blue – that blue that will always be there as it is now after all man’s destruction is finished.”
“The bones seem to cut sharply to the center of something that is keenly alive on the desert even tho’ it is vast and empty and untouchable… and knows no kindness with all its beauty.”
“I took back a barrel of bones to New York. They were my symbols of the desert, but nothing more. I haven’t seen enough to think of any other symbolism. The skulls were there and I could say something with them.”
Georgia O’Keeffe quotes on art and expression
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”
“To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.”
“In the evening I go up in the desert and spend hours watching the sun go down, just enjoying it, and every day I go out and watch it again. I draw some and there is a little painting and so the days go by.”
“Someone else’s vision will never be as good as your own vision of yourself. Live and die with it ’cause in the end, it’s all you have. Lose it and you lose yourself and everything else. I should have listened to myself.”
“Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.”
“I am going to be an artist! – I don’t really know where I got my artist idea… I only know that by that time it was definitely settled in my mind.”
“I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.”
“All the earth colors of the painter’s palette are out there in the many miles of badlands…”
“When people read erotic symbols into my painting, they’re really thinking about their own affairs.”
“I often lay on that bench looking up into the tree, past the trunk, and up into the branches. It was particularly fine at night with the stars above the tree.”
“I don’t see why we ever think of what others think of what we do – no matter who they are. Isn’t it enough just to express yourself?”
“I am not an exponent of expressionism. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I don’t like the sound of it. I dislike cults and isms. I want to paint in terms of my own thinking and feeling.”
“I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.”
“Before I put a brush to canvas, I question, ‘Is this mine? …Is it influenced by some idea which I have acquired from some man? I am trying with all my skill to do a painting that is all of the women, as well as all of me.”
“It’s my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.”
“Filling a space in a beautiful way – that is what art means to me.”
“Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since I cannot sing, I paint.”
“I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at – not copy it.”
“I believe an artist is the last person in the world who can afford to be affected.”
“There’s something about black. You feel hidden away in it.”
“The meaning of a word – to me – is not as exact as the meaning of a color. Colors and shapes make a more definite statement than words.”
“Art is a wicked thing. It is what we are.”
“Slits in nothingness are not very easy to paint.”
“I don’t very much enjoy looking at paintings in general. I know too much about them. I take them apart.”
“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.”
“One cannot be an American by going about saying that one is an American. It is necessary to feel America, like America, love America, and then work.”
“Marks on paper are free – free speech – press pictures all go together I suppose.”
Georgia O’Keeffe quotes on life and work
“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”
“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.”
“It’s not enough to be nice in life. You’ve got to have nerve.”
“I’m glad I want everything in the world – good and bad – bitter and sweet – I want it all.”
“Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.”
“The days you work are the best days.”
“We feared the heartlessness of human beings, all of whom are born blind, few of whom ever learn to see.”
“I think it’s so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary – you’re happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.”
“I have a single-track mind. I work on an idea for a long time. It’s like getting acquainted with a person, and I don’t get acquainted easily.”
“I have lived on a razor’s edge. So what if you fall off. I’d rather be doing something I wanted to do. I’d walk it again.”
“I decided to accept as true my own thinking.”
“You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.”
“I feel there is something unexplored about woman that only a woman can explore.”
“The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I’m one of the best painters.”
“It seems to me very important to the idea of democracy to the country and to the world eventually that all men and women stand equal under the sky.”
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