Georgia O'Keeffee

Title: Georgia O’Keeffe
Author: Robyn Montana Turner
Illustrator: (All works of art by Georgia O’Keeffe)
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 1991
ISBN: 0-316-85654-1
Genre: Biography
Library Location: Amarillo Public Library

“I found I could say things with color and shapes
that I couldn’t say in any other way –
things I had no words for.” Georgia O’Keeffe




Summary: Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was born in Wisconsin and was the second of seven children. Her mother enrolled Georgia in private drawing and painting lessons when she was twelve and the young girl discovered that she enjoyed painting with watercolors. In 1905, Georgia was considered ahead of her time when she was admitted to one of the country’s leading art schools, the Chicago Art Institute. She later studied at the Art Student’s League in New York City and with Arthur Wesley Dow, who influenced her to put aside her realistic style of working in favor of experimentation with abstract art. Alfred Stieglitz, a famous photographer, was impressed with her work and gave her a first exhibition at this gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue. In September of 1916, Georgia began teaching art at West Texas State Normal College (now West Texas A & M) in Canyon, Texas, where she would speak of the plains – “the terrible winds and a wonderful emptiness” – as her spiritual home. She loved painting the plains, the vast sky and the beauty of Palo Duro Canyon, but after three semesters, Georgia returned to New York to be with Stieglitz. In 1929 O’Keeffe, now a well-known artist, decided to return to the West and settled in Northern New Mexico, where she would work and live for the rest of her life.

Personal Response: I feel a personal kinship with Georgia O’Keeffe since I love the beauty of Palo Duro Canyon and spend a lot of time painting there in plein air (out-of-doors) during all seasons of year when weather permits. Since I’ve lived in Amarillo, I’ve also made numerous trips to Santa Fe and the surrounding area of New Mexico that Georgia loved so much and where she lived so many years of her life. I’ve gained an appreciation for her work by viewing numerous pieces in person at the gallery established in her honor at Santa Fe.

Suggested Use in Classroom: After reading this book and viewing the beautiful color reproductions of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work, my middle-school students and I would discuss our response to her art. We would discuss the elements of her work that make it so special and unique and consider together how the landscape of the West, including West Texas in particular affected her style of painting. Next, I would guide my students in choosing flowers, bones or other still life objects to observe close up and paint in watercolor, loosely imitating