Georgia O'Keeffe Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Georgia O'Keeffe
OCCUPATION: Painter
BIRTH DATE: November 15, 1887
DEATH DATE: March 06, 1986
EDUCATION: Art Institute of Chicago
PLACE OF BIRTH: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
PLACE OF DEATH: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Best Known For

Georgia O'Keefe is a 20th century American painter best known for her flower canvases and southwestern landscapes.

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Georgia O'Keeffe

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Georgia O'Keeffe. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:12, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684.

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Georgia O'Keeffe. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684 [Accessed 25 May 2013].

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"Georgia O'Keeffe." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 05:12 http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684.

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"Georgia O'Keeffe," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684 [accessed May 25, 2013].

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"Georgia O'Keeffe," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684 (accessed May 25, 2013).

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Georgia O'Keeffe [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684.

Bluebook Style

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AMA Style

Georgia O'Keeffe. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684. Accessed May 25, 2013.

Synopsis

Georgia O'Keeffe was born on November 15, 1887, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photographer Alfred Stieglitz gave O'Keefe her first gallery show in 1916 and the couple married in 1924. O'Keeffe moved to New Mexico after her husband's death and was inspired by the landscape to create numerous well-known paintings. Georgia O'Keeffe died on March 6, 1986.

Quotes

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else."

– Georgia O'Keeffe

Early Life

Artist and painter Georgia O'Keeffe was born on November 15, 1887, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Known for her striking flower paintings and other captivating works, O'Keeffe was one of the greatest American artists of the twentieth century. She took to making art at a young age and went to study at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1900s. Later, while living in New York, she studied with such artists as William Merritt Chase as a member of the Art Students League.

Famed Artwork

O'Keeffe found an advocate in famed photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz. He showed her work to the public for the first time in 1916 at his gallery 291. Married in 1924, the two formed a professional and personal partnership that lasted until his death in 1946. Some of her popular works from this early period include Black Iris (1926) and Oriental Poppies (1928). Living in New York, she translated some of her environment onto the canvas with such paintings as Shelton Hotel, N.Y. No. 1 (1926).

After frequently visiting New Mexico since the late 1920s, O'Keeffe moved there for good in 1946 after her husband’s death and explored the area's rugged landscapes in many works. This environment inspired such paintings as Black Cross, New Mexico (1929) and Cow's Skull with Calico Roses (1931).

Death and Legacy

O'Keeffe died on March 6, 1986, in Santa Fe, Mexico. As popular as ever, her works can be seen at museums around the world as well as the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.