Georgia O’Keeffe: Avant-Garde Painting In The Desert
Known for her striking organic forms and vast, abstract desertscapes, Georgia O’Keeffe was one of the most radical painters of her generation. With an unusual yet distinctive aesthetic, O’Keeffe served as a leading artist in the 20th century, and her work is still widely celebrated.
Georgia O’Keeffe created a new aesthetic with her synthesis of abstraction and realism. Developing an interest in art as a child, O’Keeffe studied at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905 and later at the Art Students League in New York in 1907, where she was influenced by European avant-garde artists. She started experimenting with representational forms in charcoal and later, in watercolors. Her clear, precise lines and bold geometry was noticed by leading photographer and collector Alfred Stieglitz, who displayed O’Keeffe’s work at his famous Gallery 291.
While conceptually abstract, O’Keeffe’s work began to morph into recognizable forms. In 1918, she moved to New York with Stieglitz, whom she later married in 1924. It was during this period that she developed her highly identifiable aesthetic.
Influenced by Modernist photography, the oil paintings O’Keeffe produced in the 1920s were in direct response to New York’s urbanism. The artist portrayed magnified trees, flowers, and leaves. She entered a fruitful phase in her artistic career when she moved to New Mexico in 1949 following the death of Stieglitz. O’Keeffe had become fascinated with the region since she visited as a child, resided in a house on her beloved Ghost Ranch during the summers.
New Mexico’s vast landscape served as major inspiration for O’Keeffe. She said her paintings expressed “the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it.” Working in Taos, her work focused on plant life, local architecture, scattered rocks, and animal skulls alongside the hills and mesas that characterized the region.
By the mid-20th century, O’Keeffe returned to the simpler abstraction of her early paintings, and she began working in clay. Her most notable work includes Desert Abstraction (1931), Red Hills and Pedernal (1936), Summer Days (1936) and Black Place (1944). O’Keeffe died in 1986 at the age of 98, and following her wishes, her ashes were scattered on top of her beloved Pedernal Mountain, on which she once remarked, “It’s my private mountain, it belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.”
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe opened in 1997 and was the first museum dedicated to a female artist in the United States.
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meet our Local Insider
Hanna
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE?
2 years.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
It's the personal contact, the personal experiences. I love meeting people from all over the world... I really like getting to know everyone and feeling like I'm traveling with a group of friends.
WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST?
I have so many places on my list, but I would really lobe to go to Africa. I consider myself an “adventure girl” and Africa feels like the ULTIMATE adventure!
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Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
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