Georgia O'Keeffe: Life and Work

An historical retrospective that explores the complex universe of an artist who changed the history of modern art. Born in 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades after women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists were well known or highly celebrated. Within a decade, however, she had distinguished herself as one of America’s most important modern artists, a position she maintained throughout her life. This catalog covers her entire artistic range with more than ninety paintings, drawings, and sculptures including her first abstract works from the 1910s and the large oil paintings depicting flowers and nature formations from the 1920s, as well as her famous New York cityscapes and the wide New Mexico landscapes. Photographs, clothing, furniture, and tools shed light on an exceptional woman, who exemplified with her work how American art dissociated itself from European traditions and addressed the artistic emancipation of female artists. Photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, O’Keeffe’s supporter and later her husband, and other notable photographers, such as Ansel Adams, Todd Webb, and Don Worth, show further facets of her life and work. An illustrated chronology and a bibliography complete the catalog.