So, I was thinking about poppies (Remembrance Day, my last blog) and I remembered we have a beautiful poster of poppies by Georgia O’Keeffe in our living room. Then somehow I found out that her birthday is 15 November (that’s tomorrow!) and she would have been 125 years old. Cool huh? So naturally, that called out for a blog to celebrate. But what could I say? What could I share about Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)??
Well, let’s start with those gorgeous poppies:
Poppies, Jimson Weeds, Irises, Calla Lillies, Jack in the Pulpit, all those larger-than-life floral paintings, some very abstracted – that’s the work that immediately comes to mind when I hear Georgia O’Keeffe’s name:
40 x 30″, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
27 5/8 x 21 3/4 in, Museum of Modern Art, New York. For some reason this makes me think of looking out into galaxies.
I also think about her paintings with skulls and other bones:
I also was aware of her Southwest landscapes:
I know of her turbulent love affair and marriage to the photographer and sometime gallery owner, Alfred Stieglitz, more than twenty years her senior. But that just about sums it up. So I began to look through her artwork. I was surprised by some of what I found. So I thought I’d share some of my discoveries.
For example, I didn’t know that Georgia O’Keeffe had painted cityscapes, particularly skyscrapers. These would have been painted while she lived in New York with Stieglitz. (As an aside, the Empire State Building was completed in 1931.)
Check out these beauties:
Then there are the almost totally abstracted later works:
Two more. One from vacationing in Nassau (!!) and the other, apparently the first painting she sold.
Oh, and I didn’t know Georgia’s middle name was Totto 🙂
The other thing I realized, shockingly, is I have seen very few Georgia O’Keeffe originals. Gonna have to work on remedying that!
Most of these images are taken from the catalogue of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work on exhibition in Zurich in 2004.
I am just now starting a fascinating (and large) book of selected letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz.
The art of letter writing – a thing of the past in this age of quick communication. How wonderfully they expressed themselves and how we begin to get to know them through their words.
A random opening of the book takes me here:
Georgia O’Keeffe. Waring, Texas. 6 April 1918:
“If I could cut my hair off it seems I would be quite happy – I’ve been lying here wondering if I dare – I don’t know – but it seems to be the most civilized thing about me and I’d like to get rid of it –…”
and here:
Georgia O’Keeffe. Cambridge Bermuda. 19 April 1933
“.…If I would paint I would have to work indoors – the ground is nearly white and the light dazzling – goggles are quite the thing to wear – I was smart enough to bring mine and I wear them…”
Okay, I think that’s it for now. There is so much more I could say and show you but it’s a blog after all and I fear, as always, I’ve got carried away!
I would love to know if you were surprised by any of these works or if you already knew about their existence.
In case you’re interested, I touched on Georgia O’Keeffe in a previous blog.
Thanks for reading!!
~ Gail
PS. Last night Cam and I went to a concert at Alix Goolden Hall. First time I’ve been there. I was so excited to go and see Elliott Brood. We have their album Mountain Meadows
Here’s Elliot Brood (three-person band) playing live in Q studio in 2009, in Jan 2012 and Feb 2012 and in a music video from their website. Jian Ghomeshi briefly interviews the band members in Feb 2012.
I hadn’t known Wintersleep before – good discovery. A bonus – they put on quite the light show!
Life is good.
