Georgia O'Keefe

Georgia O'Keeffe

At the end of the 19th century, there were many movements and changes to the world and art that were occurring within a similar time frame. Within the art world, many of the "isms" began to come alive, that of impressionism, post-impressionism, surrealism, expressionism, abstract expressionism, and many more, which all together form "Modernism. While men were still at the top of the art world and woman still struggling to cement their place at the top as well, they were still creating art as the century wore on, however many were not given the proper credit for their work, as either their husband took credit for the piece, or they were just pushed away for they were not able to outshine their significant other or any other man. But this would all be temporary, because "there was also more opportunity than ever for a woman to live her life and make art on her own terms. In the 20th century, women won rights never given to them before, including the right to vote. With more freedom, more women have become artist" (GG 59).

O'Keeffe and Stieglitz

Black Iris, 1926

Georgia O'Keeffe was born 1887, in Wisconsin and was the daughter of a painter and farmer. She went against the grain of the personality of women at this time, as "she was a no-nonsense, straightforward Midwesterner who did as she pleased and didn't fit anyone's mold" (GG 74). She was also pushed to fame by a photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who "brought her to New York, married her, promoted her work, and photographed her over and over again, creating a public image of her as an erotic icon"(GG 74). Rather then putting her down or attempting put down her passion, her husband helped give this boost to the fame, and she would take advantage of that with her art work. They would stay married and living in New York until his death (O'Keeffe would then move to New Mexico), but during time in New York, she translated some of her environment onto the canvas with such paintings as Shelton Hotel, N.Y. No. 1 (1926), and some of her popular works from this early period include Black Iris (1926) and Oriental Poppies (1928) (Bio 1).

Shelton hotel, N.Y. No. 1, 1926

Mostly O'Keeffe made New York her home, where she would go on to become the most famous artist in the United States. However after a visit to New Mexico, she fell in love with the area and was inspired by the land and 
culture to create many new paintings. She loved New Mexico so much that she "took off alone for summers there and, when Stieglitz died, moved there permanently, living an adobe house in Abiquiu" (GG 75). Such paintings that came about her time in New Mexico were along the lines of Black Cross, New Mexico (1929) and Cow's Skull with Calico Roses (1931). 

Black Cross, New Mexico, 1929

Cow's Skull with Calico Roses

, 1931

While living in New Mexico after he husband passed, her true fame was shown as "people from all over the world came knocking on her door to pay homage", and that "she was the first woman to have a retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art (there have been very few since)" (GG 75). That is enough praise in itself, not only to show how far women had come at this point but it also shows that status that O'Keeffe was able to attain and put her on this pedestal that was the higher than most male artist at the time. 
 

  Many Feminist loved and were fond of Georgia O'Keeffe because she had made it, was playing in the "big leagues" along with the male artists. However there those who were critical of her, like "Robert Hughes, belittle Georgia because feminists love her". When first came to New York, she joined the National Women's Party. O'Keeffe, to no surprise, "was always often outspoken about how she was treated and mistreated as a female, and in an interview in The Masses, a Marxist newspaper, she remarked that women were oppressed, but that in the heart of hearts, she'd rather talk about abstraction" (GG75). While she lived to almost to be a hundred years old, she stands as inspiration to all artist, regardless of gender, and was one of the many who had helped broke down the walls and bring gap between men and women closer together. While she had passed on, her legacy and art will stand forever.

"The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I'm one of the best painters"

"Georgia O'Keeffe." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.  

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.