Today in History: Georgia O'Keeffe Is Born

“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.” -- from Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, c2004

An influential American artist known as the "Mother of American modernism", Georgia O'Keeffe was born on November 15th, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The second oldest of seven children, O'Keeffe's parents were dairy farmers of Irish (father) - Hungarian (mother) descent. Georgia O'Keeffe trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Art Students League of New York, and for a short time at Teachers College, Columbia University where she was introduced to the practices and philosophies of Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922), author of Composition: A Series of Exercises. O'Keeffe is best known for her interpretive and abstract paintings of flowers and New York and New Mexico cityscapes, which included skyscrapers, skulls, and deserts. She married the divorced photographer Alfred Stieglitz, with whom she exchanged over 5,000 letters. She died on March 6, 1986 at the age of 98, and her home in Abiquiu was designated a national historic landmark now owned by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning:

• Winn, M. (1943, Feb 28). Georgia O'Keeffe--Outstanding Artist. Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963)

• Seldis, H. (1967, Jan 22). Georgia O'Keeffe at 78: Tough-Minded Romantic. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995)

• Asbury, E. (1968, Nov 02). Silent Desert Still Charms Georgia O'Keeffe, Near 81. New York Times (1923-Current File)

• Kramer, H. (1976, Dec 12). Georgia O'Keeffe. New York Times (1923-Current File)

• Wallach, A. (1976, Dec 12). Georgia O'Keeffe's Life, in Her Words. Newsday (1940-1990)

• Raven, A. (1980, Mar 30). A Feminist Perspective on Georgia O'Keeffe. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current File)

• Wallach, A. (1986, Mar 07). Georgia O'Keeffe 1887-1986: The Desert Was Her Canvas. Newsday (1940-1990)

• Coburn, M. (1987, Nov 15). In Her Own Words: The Letters of Georgia O'Keeffe Paint a Portrait of the Woman Beneath the Myth. Chicago Tribune (1963-Current File)

• Tsuda, M. (1988, Feb 03). Georgia O' Keeffe. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current File)

• Curtis, C. (1991, Jul 13). The Shape of Dow's Influence. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995)

Tips: 

• O’Keeffe, Georgia, Alfred Stieglitz, and Sarah Greenough. My Faraway One Selected Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. Volume I, 1915-1933 . New Haven [Conn: Yale University Press, 2011. e-book

• Scott, Nancy J. Georgia O’Keeffe. London, England: Reaktion Books, 2015. e-book

• Souter, Janet. Georgia O’Keeffe. New York, New York: Parkstone International, 2011. e-book

• Also see our archival holdings in Pocketknowledge on Georgia O'Keeffe and the vialogue, "Georgia O'Keeffe Re-Inspired", made by Edlab Studios

Images:

• Georgia O'Keeffe by Stieglitz, 1918. Wikimedia Commons

• Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Canna, 1919, Hugh Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, Wikimedia Commons

• Special News Slide, Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries

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