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Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life
This biography draws on many sources closed to writers during O'Keeffe's lifetime and has the co-operation of the O'Keeffe family. Her life spanned nearly a century of ferment and change in America and although part of the modernist movement she established her own unique vision. She was deeply influenced by feminist thought, having experience the early suffrage movement before World War I. During the next wave of feminist thought in the seventies, she was hailed as a heroine.
636 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 16, 2016
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About the author
Roxana Robinson
34 books229 followersRoxana Robinson is the author of eight works of fiction, including the novels Cost and Sparta. She is also the author of Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life. A former Guggenheim Fellow, she edited The New York Stories of Edith Wharton and wrote the introduction to Elizabeth Taylor’s A View of the Harbour, both published by NYRB Classics. Robinson is currently the president of the Authors Guild.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
April 11, 2009
This is a very important book to me. In 1995 I was going through a difficult time in my personal life and found that I was wallowing in self-consciousness and self-pity. I happened upon this biography during that time and found in Roxanna Robinson's depiction of Georgia O'Keefe a new definition of a strong woman who knew from an early age who she was and lived up to her own personal ideals - even if she acted in a flawed way.
She was attracted to Alfred Stieglitz for his vision, his love of art and artists. He was attracted to her because he saw someone who was 'her own person' and and American woman artist, at a time when European artists were the most revered. Stieglitz made it his mission to support, emotionally and financially American artists in order to bring their art to the world.
At first O'Keefe became completely absorbed by Stieglitz, as many women do. He kept her in an apartment in New York, while he was married to another woman. He spent many hours of time photographing O'Keefe in the nude, while supporting her so she could paint without a job getting in the way of the art. In that crucible of a relationship she was forced to look inward and the isolation, ironically, created a strong need to find out who she was - apart from Stieglitz, or any other man. She eventually learned that this vision - looking closely at a flower, or trying to draw/paint sound or the feeling of a headache for instance, and painting what she saw, was different - and people responded to it, viscerally.
Her life was a dramatic and often times funny journey of extremes.
She was attracted to Alfred Stieglitz for his vision, his love of art and artists. He was attracted to her because he saw someone who was 'her own person' and and American woman artist, at a time when European artists were the most revered. Stieglitz made it his mission to support, emotionally and financially American artists in order to bring their art to the world.
At first O'Keefe became completely absorbed by Stieglitz, as many women do. He kept her in an apartment in New York, while he was married to another woman. He spent many hours of time photographing O'Keefe in the nude, while supporting her so she could paint without a job getting in the way of the art. In that crucible of a relationship she was forced to look inward and the isolation, ironically, created a strong need to find out who she was - apart from Stieglitz, or any other man. She eventually learned that this vision - looking closely at a flower, or trying to draw/paint sound or the feeling of a headache for instance, and painting what she saw, was different - and people responded to it, viscerally.
Her life was a dramatic and often times funny journey of extremes.
May 29, 2017
A NYT Notable Book and often considered the best of the spate of O'Keeffe biographies that appeared in the early 1990s. Roxanna Robinson is a much-praised novelist (as of mid-2017, 5 novels, 3 story collections) and has a novelist's interpretive tendencies, which some readers may find intrusive. In fact, I wonder why she decided to write a biography, rather than a novel.
Still, Robinson is thorough and careful and this is an eminently readable book. She especially shines in her treatment of O'Keeffe's art and its critical reception, perhaps a little less when it comes to the artist's relationships. If there are deficiencies in the book, they arise from the time in which it was written (the late 1980s). Because she did not have access to the O'Keeffe-Chabot correspondence, Robinson describes that friendship from O'Keeffe's definitely one-sided point of view and cannot tell us how Chabot felt about the way O'Keeffe used her. Her narrative of the Juan Hamilton episode is similarly weighted and unsympathetic to Hamilton, perhaps because she worked primarily from print sources, and those (at the time) were heavily negative.
Biographies of famous people--especially famous people who conceal their private lives behind a very public persona--are tricky things. O'Keeffe is especially tricky, because the iconic persona she created is powerful and even intimidating, and because many important documents weren't available to the early (1990s) biographers. Her correspondence with Stieglitz was sealed for 25 years after her death: the first volume didn't become available until 2011, the second has not yet been published. The extensive Chabot correspondence (essential to an understanding of the way O'Keeffe treated her "slaves") wasn't published until 2003. It's important to know when a biography was published and what sources (both print and interview) were available at that time.
All that said, Robinson's biography is a very good one to start with. If it's the only one you read, it will take you deep into O'Keeffe's life and art.
Still, Robinson is thorough and careful and this is an eminently readable book. She especially shines in her treatment of O'Keeffe's art and its critical reception, perhaps a little less when it comes to the artist's relationships. If there are deficiencies in the book, they arise from the time in which it was written (the late 1980s). Because she did not have access to the O'Keeffe-Chabot correspondence, Robinson describes that friendship from O'Keeffe's definitely one-sided point of view and cannot tell us how Chabot felt about the way O'Keeffe used her. Her narrative of the Juan Hamilton episode is similarly weighted and unsympathetic to Hamilton, perhaps because she worked primarily from print sources, and those (at the time) were heavily negative.
Biographies of famous people--especially famous people who conceal their private lives behind a very public persona--are tricky things. O'Keeffe is especially tricky, because the iconic persona she created is powerful and even intimidating, and because many important documents weren't available to the early (1990s) biographers. Her correspondence with Stieglitz was sealed for 25 years after her death: the first volume didn't become available until 2011, the second has not yet been published. The extensive Chabot correspondence (essential to an understanding of the way O'Keeffe treated her "slaves") wasn't published until 2003. It's important to know when a biography was published and what sources (both print and interview) were available at that time.
All that said, Robinson's biography is a very good one to start with. If it's the only one you read, it will take you deep into O'Keeffe's life and art.
October 24, 2024
I’m in mourning over finishing this book. 😞💔💔💔💔
July 21, 2014
I read this book in preparation for a visit to Santa Fe and New Mexico- Georgia O'Keeffe heartland. Subsequently I travelled to New York and the book gave me a new understanding of O'Keeffe's nature, why she painted what she did when she did and her need to breathe in the open skies of New Mexico. Ms Robinson carefully illustrates how O'Keeffe's background and upbringing nourished her independent spirit and led to her individualistic artistic development which was nourished and nurtured by Steiglitz. She renders credible the very real affection the two shared, anchored in their professional artistic interests and strong enough to survive very different temperaments and other interests - O'Keeffe's for wide open spaces, solitude and travel, Steiglitz's for family, friends, New York and Lake George. By the time Steiglitz passed away, Georgia O'Keeffe was a mature and even famous artist well able to settle and paint where she chose, which was her beloved New Mexico. Ms Robinson shows that although O'Keeffe was content and at peace in her new home and enjoyed extensive travel and the company of local people and friends, the tension and companionship of her relationship with Steiglitz was missing. The final, eventually sorry relationship with Juan Hamilton, who controlled access to her in her very old age and abused her trust is a sad end to what was a long and fruitful life of a woman who essentially lived and painted as she wished.
December 28, 2025
A beautiful life of a woman. I know very little about art but I appreciate her work especially because of her adoration of New Mexico.
The narrative of her life is plagued by two stupid men who make an attempt to control her. They were unsuccessful.
The narrative of her life is plagued by two stupid men who make an attempt to control her. They were unsuccessful.
September 20, 2009
This is an exhaustive work, superbly researched and well-cited. It is quite lengthy and "dry" in places so it took some time to complete.
O'Keefe was one of the first "modern" female artists, yet remained attached to her lover and husband, the great photographer Alfred Stieglitz, despite his emotional cruelty and neglect. Her love for him never wavered, but his forceful and demanding personality smothered her spirit, a spirit that fed her art. His serial womanizing made living with him impossible. After many years living in New York City and summering in Lake George, O'Keefe began spending summers without Stieglitz in Taos, New Mexico with like-minded artists. She ultimately settled there permanently and the photographs taken of her during that time are iconic in their spareness. In Taos she discovered a "light" that replenished her soul and inspired her paintings, particularly the ones of bleached animal skulls and the deserts of the Southwest.
O'Keefe's artistic talent was obvious growing up in a large family in the midwest and she attended the Art Institute in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. She began teaching and taking additional classes while continuing to paint and draw. A classmate showed some of her drawings to Stieglitz and that began their collaboration, resulting in his leaving his wife for her and their ultimate marriage. Stieglitz promoted her tirelessly in his famous gallery "291". But his professional devotion was controlling, arrogant and inflexible and at odds with his neglect of her emotional needs.
Much has been written about the erotic qualities of O'Keefe's famous flowers and her rumored bisexuality. Robinson addresses this in the context of that era. Within their avante-garde circle of friends an artist's exploration of sexuality and its role in Nature was accepted. This was the era of Picasso, the Twenties and the Great Depression.
One of Stieglitz's influences on O'Keefe was to never "give away" her work. After Stieglitz's death, O'Keefe asked for paintings back from his estate, and her own collection of paintings and drawings provided the basis for the georgia O'Keefe Museum which opened in Santa Fe after her death.
O'Keefe lived an ascetic, simple life in New Mexico after Stieglitz's death in the 40's. Her body of work is distinctive and timeless. She died in 1986 at the age of 98.
This is a reasonable biography but lacks the passion I would have expected from a female author writing the story of a pioneering, eccentric yet extraordinarily talented female artist. Somehow I think the best way to understand O'Keefe is by viewing her paintings. They speak for themselves.
O'Keefe was one of the first "modern" female artists, yet remained attached to her lover and husband, the great photographer Alfred Stieglitz, despite his emotional cruelty and neglect. Her love for him never wavered, but his forceful and demanding personality smothered her spirit, a spirit that fed her art. His serial womanizing made living with him impossible. After many years living in New York City and summering in Lake George, O'Keefe began spending summers without Stieglitz in Taos, New Mexico with like-minded artists. She ultimately settled there permanently and the photographs taken of her during that time are iconic in their spareness. In Taos she discovered a "light" that replenished her soul and inspired her paintings, particularly the ones of bleached animal skulls and the deserts of the Southwest.
O'Keefe's artistic talent was obvious growing up in a large family in the midwest and she attended the Art Institute in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. She began teaching and taking additional classes while continuing to paint and draw. A classmate showed some of her drawings to Stieglitz and that began their collaboration, resulting in his leaving his wife for her and their ultimate marriage. Stieglitz promoted her tirelessly in his famous gallery "291". But his professional devotion was controlling, arrogant and inflexible and at odds with his neglect of her emotional needs.
Much has been written about the erotic qualities of O'Keefe's famous flowers and her rumored bisexuality. Robinson addresses this in the context of that era. Within their avante-garde circle of friends an artist's exploration of sexuality and its role in Nature was accepted. This was the era of Picasso, the Twenties and the Great Depression.
One of Stieglitz's influences on O'Keefe was to never "give away" her work. After Stieglitz's death, O'Keefe asked for paintings back from his estate, and her own collection of paintings and drawings provided the basis for the georgia O'Keefe Museum which opened in Santa Fe after her death.
O'Keefe lived an ascetic, simple life in New Mexico after Stieglitz's death in the 40's. Her body of work is distinctive and timeless. She died in 1986 at the age of 98.
This is a reasonable biography but lacks the passion I would have expected from a female author writing the story of a pioneering, eccentric yet extraordinarily talented female artist. Somehow I think the best way to understand O'Keefe is by viewing her paintings. They speak for themselves.
September 3, 2017
This was a wonderfully comprehensive look at the life of Georgia O'Keeffe with tons of characters to research on the side. (Thank goodness for Google yet again!) It starts with her grand parent's history and finishes with her sad end in Santa Fe at the age of 98. I was able to visit the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and the Living Modern exhibit at the Reynolda House in Winston-Salem while reading this book, so I feel as if I'm coming out of a sort of immersion experience right now. :) Until the point in the book where Georgia becomes involved with Stieglitz, I quite liked her presentation as a person very much. She was unconventional for her time and wasn't afraid to strike out on her own in the least.
After she met Stieglitz, I found that I didn't like her nearly as well, and quite possibly not at all. The man, while a great photographer, was a manipulative, hypocritical, self-important jerk and around him, Georgia was completely cowed and servile. Eventually of course, she had enough and made her escape to New Mexico. Unfortunately, in self-imposed isolation there, she became her own worst self. Imperious, demanding, and self-centered to the detriment of everyone around her. If her end hadn't ended up being such a blatant case of elder abuse, it would almost seems just that Juan Hamilton would come into her life and take over. Yet while I come away not liking Georgia, Stieglitz, or Hamilton one bit, the story itself is fascinating and you really do come to understand the times she lived in and to know her friends and family as you read along. Robinson did a great job with her research and there are a gazillion sources. This is absolutely the best book I've read all year.
After she met Stieglitz, I found that I didn't like her nearly as well, and quite possibly not at all. The man, while a great photographer, was a manipulative, hypocritical, self-important jerk and around him, Georgia was completely cowed and servile. Eventually of course, she had enough and made her escape to New Mexico. Unfortunately, in self-imposed isolation there, she became her own worst self. Imperious, demanding, and self-centered to the detriment of everyone around her. If her end hadn't ended up being such a blatant case of elder abuse, it would almost seems just that Juan Hamilton would come into her life and take over. Yet while I come away not liking Georgia, Stieglitz, or Hamilton one bit, the story itself is fascinating and you really do come to understand the times she lived in and to know her friends and family as you read along. Robinson did a great job with her research and there are a gazillion sources. This is absolutely the best book I've read all year.
December 19, 2025
I love Georgia O’Keefe’s gorgeous art and what I know of her life, strong personality and feminism. Her art speaks to me, as does her choice of art and loving in Santé Fe.
This is a wonderful memoir because the author cares about her subject, researches well, and writes beautifully.
This is a wonderful memoir because the author cares about her subject, researches well, and writes beautifully.
July 7, 2025
Having recently visited Santa Fe, I felt that I needed to know more about Georgia O’Keeffe. This biography was well reviewed and is the one they sell in the gift shop at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, so I chose to read it. Oh what a slog! I eventually skipped the philosophical and long-winded passages describing her artwork and repetitive descriptions of her emotional and intellectual state. I wanted to know her story. O’Keeffe was an extraordinary woman, and experienced a singular clarity of purpose while often under the influence of charismatic men. She claimed her own life for a while, admirably. And produced most beautiful artwork.
April 21, 2020
This may have been the best art biography I have ever read. It read like a novel at times as well as art history lessons throughout. Georgia O’Keeffe was a fascinating soul with a passion for art and life. Each chapter of her life reflected a different facet of her artistic expression. Even though I am drawn to art history and stories of the artists, this biography gave me an intimate perspective of a woman who blazed a unique path (her own) through art history. I highly recommend this biography.
November 25, 2008
Sensual imagery. Detailed life story. Robinson allows us to truly understand O'Keefe's need for solitude, and her fierce relationship to the elemental forces of the Southwestern landscape.
February 7, 2010
Interesting, but some of the writing inconsistant
May 12, 2020
No había leído nada sobre Georgia O’Keffe, ni nada de la autora, y me encantó. Es una biografía bastante detallada, muy bien puesta en su contexto histórico. Me gusta la descripción de su infancia rural en Wisconsin, los valores con los que creció y como esas circunstancias la formaron. Su formación profesional está muy bien documentada, y me gustó leer sobre ese momento histórico de diferenciación del arte americano del europeo y la importancia que tuvo Stieglitz en ello, y cómo ella formó parte de eso.
Pasé de admirar la obra a admirar a la mujer, su sensibilidad y su tesón, su independencia, cómo logró mantener su espacio vital junto a Stieglitz, otro personaje tan fuerte, y crearse su propio hogar en el lugar mas mágico y hermoso del American Southwest, abandonando el medio artístico Neoyorquino para adentrarse en el desierto. La autora describe muy bien su carácter, sus motivaciones y su evolución hasta morir a los 97 años, con una mirada que me pareció amable pero objetiva.
January 6, 2018
An awesome account of Georgia O'Keeffe life. I was particularly interested in how she came to New Mexico and what held her there. The details were rich. Robinson is an excellent storyteller. I nearly read this in one sitting.
December 9, 2010
When I was young, Georgia O'Keeffe was still alive. In the 1960s and 70s she had became an icon of feminine force and power. Not feminism, she seemed above easy categories. She was primal and remote, almost an archetype of female strength and creativity, with her face graven like the hills of her beloved Southwest, yet her collaboration with Alfred Stieglitz was perhaps the great (requited) love story in art history. Many women looked to her for a role model as a woman and artist. This biography took advantage of new material from papers that had been closed to researchers since her death. It delved into her mental landscape, artistic influences, and her family. It showed how she channelled her passions into her art, consciously developing the visual vocabulary necessary to do so, how much she gained and had to give up in choosing to love Stieglitz, and how she finally had to free herself in order to be mentally and physically whole. I read this book because I was interested in her later years, which have been colored by her mythology. Robinson presented her decline honestly and with compassion, but spent little time investigating the O'Keeffe myth, which in some ways was her last enduring work.
February 17, 2020
This is one of those books I’ll keep in my library because I know I will return to it for a variety of reasons. It appealed to me on an educational, historical and emotional basis. It provided an education on modern art, a subject I had no interest in prior to this book. From a historical perspective, I now have a better understanding of just how oppressed women were at the turn of the 20th century and to appreciate strong women like Ms O’Keeffe who had the courage to defend her positions and value her talent. She “viewed the oppression of women as a humanitarian issue,” a view that I never before considered. As a result, I have new-found gratitude for the remarkable women who have done and continue to do the hard work for women’s rights. On an emotional level, I could identify with her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz as she “recognized the anxiety and the vulnerability that lay behind his need to control an argument or an idea.”
February 28, 2018
I have read many books about Georgia O’Keeffe. This particular biography is not one I would recommend. The author did meticulous research on Georgia, her family, her friends and art in general. Unfortunately, every detail was used.
Therefore the book is heavy, tedious and wordy. If I wanted to read a biography of Alfred Stieglitz, I would have found such a book. If I wanted a book on art schools and theory, I would have searched for one. As it was, I wanted a book on Georgia O’Keeffe. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong book and so I will not be finishing this book. At first I read, then I speed read, then I just skimmed. I am sorry because the author did wonderful research and I do appreciate the effort, however even a biography should give one delight.
Therefore the book is heavy, tedious and wordy. If I wanted to read a biography of Alfred Stieglitz, I would have found such a book. If I wanted a book on art schools and theory, I would have searched for one. As it was, I wanted a book on Georgia O’Keeffe. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong book and so I will not be finishing this book. At first I read, then I speed read, then I just skimmed. I am sorry because the author did wonderful research and I do appreciate the effort, however even a biography should give one delight.
March 3, 2018
After seeing a recent O’Keeffe exhibit, which included Stieglitz photographs of her and many of her hand sewn dresses, I felt a renewed curiosity about her. Growing up, we had many of her prints in our house and had trekked to New Mexico to see her work.
O’Keeffe was a complicated artist and this biography captures that complexity. I loved the writing and the art deconstruction. I am always left with the feeling that I need to read several biographies to get a better picture and will look for volumes that include more of her letters, as she was a prodigious writer and many letters have been recently unsealed.
Overall, I think this biography was a good place to start.
O’Keeffe was a complicated artist and this biography captures that complexity. I loved the writing and the art deconstruction. I am always left with the feeling that I need to read several biographies to get a better picture and will look for volumes that include more of her letters, as she was a prodigious writer and many letters have been recently unsealed.
Overall, I think this biography was a good place to start.
January 6, 2024
This biography offers a microscopic view into Georgia O'Keeffe’s life (at times almost to a fault). For a beginners guide to O’Keeffe, this book might be too in depth. However, the details of her life packed into it are quite marvelous. I enjoyed the small details of her life, such as loving to experience the rain and wind in the middle of a field or her moments of unfiltered anger toward those she loved the most. Overall, a complete and at times overwhelming piece about one of the most influential artists in the world.
May 4, 2009
Mmmm, well, I dunno. Much of the information here has been repeated in other books. The only thing that sets this book apart from the others about O'Keefe are the constant attempts to prove that she had affairs with men and women. This seemed superfluous and not especially well thought-out. I suppose the author thought this was important to prove one way or the other. It didn't add much, really.
May 3, 2017
This is a very good, very thorough book about O'Keeffe. It is also very long, and took me forever to read. I had the paperback version and the book was to large to travel with, and that's when I do much of my reading. However, I stuck with it because this book is so well written and the definitive book on 'O'Keeffe's life. Definitely worth the read. (700 pages)
April 8, 2018
A magnificent life of a magnificent painter. It's all here and at length. From start to Stieglitz, from the prairie to NYC and onto Lake George and finally to the New Mexico desert. A long read and well worth it and particularly sad on the tragedy of O'Keeffe's last years, when she was manipulated and cheated.
November 7, 2014
Too much description of "pioneering ways" to establish the time period. Boring actually. I expected a much better read with the scandal surrounding Georgia's relationship with a married man which was totally shocking for the time. Her art is oustanding. This biography is not!
May 7, 2014
Interesting info but not a great read.
April 24, 2023
Beautifully written, meticulous in its detail for the first half of O'Keeffe's life and then frustratingly vague for like forty years. And yet you get the impression Robinson was morbidly fascinated by the relationship between Hamilton and O'Keeffe. She keeps returning to it in those last few chapters, analysing it over and over again, both horrified and weirdly sympathetic in the particular way a novelist is with human beings.
The descriptions really are lovely, how Robinson keeps using the word "melting" and talks about the "tenderness" and emotional content of O'Keeffe's paintings, how she mourns what she perceives to be the losing of emotion and gaining of tranquility in the later work. I was very much reminded that this isn't just a biographer, this is a powerful creative writer turning her powers of language and perception and description on another artist. Even though I've never read any of Robinson's novels, I could tell just from this what her own fiction would be like: hyperreal and intensely deep.
O'Keeffe died when I was six which now makes sense as to why I saw so much of her art in magazines as I was entering my teens. The flowers, the skulls, the iconography of herself in the landscape -- all those made a vivid impression on me. But it was only a few months ago when I dutifully followed my aunt around the Frida Kahlo immersive exhibition, taking like a hundred pix of her surrounded by the visuals of an artist she loves, that I realised: Frida Kahlo's work does nothing for me. It was always Georgia for me. And of course that's when my aunt told me they'd had an affair.
Roxana Robinson in this book first published in 1989 will have none of that. She allows for the possibility to show you that she is not queerphobic and then slaps it right down with two sources cited who might themselves be queerphobic but we can't know. And really I don't care whether O'Keeffe was or wasn't bisexual, who she did or didn't fuck. (There are other role models for that, I'm happy with them.)
But it is interesting to examine the very cohesive image Robinson builds of O'Keeffe: of a woman who puts all her energy into her creative work, and learning that the hard way, who allows for human connection but always in subservience to the work. Which is a completely wonderful thing to read when you yourself are a female-bodied person who would rather crochet alone at home rather than go out and socialise or date or, god forbid, engage in a romantic/sexual relationship with another human being capable of fucking your whole nice calm life up. And it's not hard to see the appeal of that myth for a female writer like Robinson, even though I know nothing about her own life.
What amused me greatly was when I realised halfway through that Robinson dislikes Steiglitz as much as I do. And perhaps it's because of her that I'm convinced he was a whiny infuriating emotionally manipulative Victorian creep. Worst kind of Capricorn, ugh.
And how typically Scorpio O'Keeffe was.
I love the synchronicity of having read this biography the very year that my aunt and I are going back to New York to see our relatives, and that the MoMA has an O'Keeffe exhibition on right now that will still be on when we're there. Also, we're doing an embroidery workshop this weekend, and I found myself night before last constructing a design in my head that would be all grand swoops and cascading centres. Hopefully I'll be able to Make It Happen.
It did take me a very long time to read this but that was at the beginning. I think I powered through the second half in like three days. And I'm so glad I read this in an era where I could switch from my Kindle app into Google and look at the painting or series of paintings in varying quality, to compare Robinson's hyperbolic descriptions with the digitally reproduced image and examine my own response. Copy of a copy of a copy.
The descriptions really are lovely, how Robinson keeps using the word "melting" and talks about the "tenderness" and emotional content of O'Keeffe's paintings, how she mourns what she perceives to be the losing of emotion and gaining of tranquility in the later work. I was very much reminded that this isn't just a biographer, this is a powerful creative writer turning her powers of language and perception and description on another artist. Even though I've never read any of Robinson's novels, I could tell just from this what her own fiction would be like: hyperreal and intensely deep.
O'Keeffe died when I was six which now makes sense as to why I saw so much of her art in magazines as I was entering my teens. The flowers, the skulls, the iconography of herself in the landscape -- all those made a vivid impression on me. But it was only a few months ago when I dutifully followed my aunt around the Frida Kahlo immersive exhibition, taking like a hundred pix of her surrounded by the visuals of an artist she loves, that I realised: Frida Kahlo's work does nothing for me. It was always Georgia for me. And of course that's when my aunt told me they'd had an affair.
Roxana Robinson in this book first published in 1989 will have none of that. She allows for the possibility to show you that she is not queerphobic and then slaps it right down with two sources cited who might themselves be queerphobic but we can't know. And really I don't care whether O'Keeffe was or wasn't bisexual, who she did or didn't fuck. (There are other role models for that, I'm happy with them.)
But it is interesting to examine the very cohesive image Robinson builds of O'Keeffe: of a woman who puts all her energy into her creative work, and learning that the hard way, who allows for human connection but always in subservience to the work. Which is a completely wonderful thing to read when you yourself are a female-bodied person who would rather crochet alone at home rather than go out and socialise or date or, god forbid, engage in a romantic/sexual relationship with another human being capable of fucking your whole nice calm life up. And it's not hard to see the appeal of that myth for a female writer like Robinson, even though I know nothing about her own life.
What amused me greatly was when I realised halfway through that Robinson dislikes Steiglitz as much as I do. And perhaps it's because of her that I'm convinced he was a whiny infuriating emotionally manipulative Victorian creep. Worst kind of Capricorn, ugh.
And how typically Scorpio O'Keeffe was.
I love the synchronicity of having read this biography the very year that my aunt and I are going back to New York to see our relatives, and that the MoMA has an O'Keeffe exhibition on right now that will still be on when we're there. Also, we're doing an embroidery workshop this weekend, and I found myself night before last constructing a design in my head that would be all grand swoops and cascading centres. Hopefully I'll be able to Make It Happen.
It did take me a very long time to read this but that was at the beginning. I think I powered through the second half in like three days. And I'm so glad I read this in an era where I could switch from my Kindle app into Google and look at the painting or series of paintings in varying quality, to compare Robinson's hyperbolic descriptions with the digitally reproduced image and examine my own response. Copy of a copy of a copy.
June 2, 2017
This was a slog of a book for me, not helped by the fact that it opens with my worst pet peeve in biographies -- an opening chapter of family tree expositions, with so many names and dates thrown at you that you've got no idea what's going on. I put the book down about 1/4 way in and almost didn't pick it up again.
I'm glad that I did, though, although I still have reservations. Overall, it's an insightful and jam-packed biography with tons of detail. Robinson takes a feminist approach, so you really do get insight into the struggles she faced as a female artist and her own stance on what it meant to be a woman and an artist.
Nonetheless, there are two major drawbacks. First, it's just a long book and her writing style isn't the most dynamic or engaging. Second, she often switches from biography into art analysis. When that happens, the writing gets dense and sometimes even incomprehensible. I frequently found my mind wandering off because there were so many words I didn't know or phrases I couldn't decipher. This wasn't all that frequent, but it happened enough that it was annoying.
I'm glad I read it and feel I understand O'Keeffe better now. But I definitely wouldn't recommend this book for someone with only a casual interest in O'Keeffe or a reader looking for an engaging, entertaining read.
I'm glad that I did, though, although I still have reservations. Overall, it's an insightful and jam-packed biography with tons of detail. Robinson takes a feminist approach, so you really do get insight into the struggles she faced as a female artist and her own stance on what it meant to be a woman and an artist.
Nonetheless, there are two major drawbacks. First, it's just a long book and her writing style isn't the most dynamic or engaging. Second, she often switches from biography into art analysis. When that happens, the writing gets dense and sometimes even incomprehensible. I frequently found my mind wandering off because there were so many words I didn't know or phrases I couldn't decipher. This wasn't all that frequent, but it happened enough that it was annoying.
I'm glad I read it and feel I understand O'Keeffe better now. But I definitely wouldn't recommend this book for someone with only a casual interest in O'Keeffe or a reader looking for an engaging, entertaining read.
June 30, 2025
I read this biography while visiting Santa Fe, NM for the first time. This is O'Keeffe country. Georgia's O'Keeffe's biography now includes about 100 pages of notes. Robinson did a very good job of rounding up wonderful details from birth to death. So many wanted to get closer to her. Because Georgia wrote over 1200 letters and made 1200 paintings, we get a full view of her very active life, attending various schools, teaching in Texas, working with Steiglitz in New York and living in New Mexico. She was always working as the oldest girl in a large family from the midwest, she required time to make art and stay in close touch. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how she used her strong, determined ways to get ahead in a very male-oriented society at the turn of the century and beyond. She lived to be a very rich 98 years old. She had many friends who helped her throughout life, but she lost many to arguments. In the end the few remaining grandchildren of siblings fought to keep $44 million in the family from her 60-years younger boyfriend and caregiver. Highly recommended if you enjoy charismatic artists.
October 4, 2024
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this rather lengthy biography. After all, GO lived into her nineties so a lot needs to be said. There are copious details about different parts of O’Keeffe’s life (her formative years) and not much said about others (her father’s disappearance). I had to read with the book on one knee and the IPad on another to chase down details of the many people in GO’s sphere throughout her life. This biographer did an incredible job keeping Stieglitz’s monumental importance in perspective. Only toward the end of their marriage (his death in 1946) did the writer pause the timeline to turn focus on this pivotal moment. They were certainly a power couple, but she was by far the greater force in her flexibility, forgiveness and acceptance. He presented her with an unliveable life, but she made it work.
If you are a fan of Georgia O’Keeffe, even the tiniest bit, you will enjoy learning about her. You don’t have to read the whole thing, but once started, you maybe become hooked.
If you are a fan of Georgia O’Keeffe, even the tiniest bit, you will enjoy learning about her. You don’t have to read the whole thing, but once started, you maybe become hooked.
May 10, 2024
I almost never read biographies, but I wanted to learn more about the life of famous painter Georgia O’Keeffe before I visited her adopted home and namesake museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This was a long read, made slower by the tedious art history analysis that was interwoven with the biographical information. But I learned a lot about her as an artist and a person.
Two interesting tidbits:
-Georgia O’Keefe was supposed to paint the women’s bathroom at Radio City Music Hall, but her husband opposed it, turned her friends against her, and she had a nervous breakdown because of it. It took years for her to recover and she never painted that bathroom.
-When she was in her 80s/90s and going deaf and blind, she had a live-in caregiver, Juan Hamilton, who was 60 years her junior. He was a pretty shady self-dealer and got her to change her will. This resulted in estate litigation after her death.
This was a long read, made slower by the tedious art history analysis that was interwoven with the biographical information. But I learned a lot about her as an artist and a person.
Two interesting tidbits:
-Georgia O’Keefe was supposed to paint the women’s bathroom at Radio City Music Hall, but her husband opposed it, turned her friends against her, and she had a nervous breakdown because of it. It took years for her to recover and she never painted that bathroom.
-When she was in her 80s/90s and going deaf and blind, she had a live-in caregiver, Juan Hamilton, who was 60 years her junior. He was a pretty shady self-dealer and got her to change her will. This resulted in estate litigation after her death.
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