Among
the great American artists of the 20th-century,
Georgia O’Keeffe stands
as one of the most compelling. For nearly a century, O’Keeffe’s
representations of the beauty of the American landscape were a brave
counterpoint to the chaotic images embraced by the art world. Her
cityscapes and still life's filled the canvas with wild energy that
gained her a following among the critics as well as the public. Though
she has had many imitators, no one since has been able to paint with
such intimacy and stark precision. With exceptionally keen powers of
observation and great finesse with a paintbrush, Georgia O'Keeffe
recorded subtle nuances of color, shape, and light that enlivened her
paintings and attracted a wide audience.
Georgia
O'Keeffe was married to the pioneer photographer Alfred Stieglitz
(1864-1946) in 1924. Alfred Stieglitz was 54 when Georgia arrived in New
York, 23 years her senior. Educated in Berlin, he had studied
engineering and photography before returning to the States at the turn
of the century and opening the 291 gallery. He pioneered the art of
photography, and single-handedly introduced America to the works of
Picasso,
Matisse, and
Cezanne at the gallery, along with publishing his
well respected "Camera Works" magazine. It was at Stieglitz's famed New
York art gallery "291" that her charcoal drawings were first exhibited
in 1916. The union lasted 22 years, until Stieglitz's death.
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