Georgia O'Keefe

by Nancy Frazier

One of the greatest American painters of the 20th century, Georgia O'Keeffe is beloved by a broad audience that ranges from the most erudite art historian to the twelve-year-old girl next door. Her monumentally sensuous oil paintings of flowers hang in the best museum collections but are known as well via mass-produced posters, greeting cards and calendars; her weathered, elegant, fierce self has long been mythicized through Alfred Stieglitz's classic black-and-white photographs of his wife. This large-format monograph on O'Keefe renews her place in the modern canon and encourages an intensive encounter with her work. Her radical departures from imitative realism, the style that was prevalent when she began to study art making, eventually led to an idiosyncratic painting style characterized by a state of suspension. Over the course of her lengthy career--she worked up until two years before her death at age 98--she discovered and developed a personal language through which to express her own feelings and ideas, creating bold picture conceptions and spatial designs that hover somewhere between the real and the abstract, the close-up and the monumental, natural representation and artificiality.

Genres: Art, Biography, Art History, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published October 23, 1990

Reviews

[Jessie Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful prints and informative text.

[Starbubbles · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a really nice collection. There weren't many Calla Lilies in here, which is what she is known for. In the places section, there was a disproportionate amount of buildings to desert landscapes, also a signature of hers. You would think that there would be a focus on landscapes instead of buildings. It would be like going to a Picasso exhibit and only seeing his realistic early work. Out of the O'Keefe books I have looked at, this one is the best one out of the bunch. The introduction was brief and glowing, artwork was sectioned off by theme, and there was a nice variety in each section.

4.5 stars

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is a large format book, 10 1/2 by 14 1/2 inches, it is thin only 112 pages. However it is chock full of some of her best work! The large full color illustrations will hold your attention as you study each one. I was looking for a book with ample examples of her flowers and this one has that so I am very pleased with my buy. Too often O’Keefe’s later work of bones and desert landscapes fill art books but this book includes many of her earlier works in NYC and Lake George, NY. A great book!

[Jordan Silverstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about Georgia O’Keeffe before reading. Only just her name and the red poppy she is known for. I was super pleased that before her art was showcased, a detailed story about her life was told! Thoroughly loved!

[Al Gritten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of her life but what really rocks this book is the color plates - lots of them, and good sized. Great sampling of her work. This one is definitely a keeper.

[Marco Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took my breathe away, what joy is it to experience transcendental art like Georgia’s.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful large images of many of her works. Many I had not seen before.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just lovely. Brief, but good, biographical material with representative paintings.

[Christina Packard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less than ten pages of her story with the rest in full page photos of her paintings.