Facts about Georgia O'Keeffe

"I have but one desire as a painter – that is to paint what I see, as I see it, in my own way, without regard for the desires or taste of the professional dealer or the professional collector."- Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe was born on November 15, 1887 near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She was also raised in this area, but later moved to Virginia.

Her talent was discovered as a small child, and she was blessed with art lessons through out her life. By her graduation of high school, she had already decided that her life goal was to become an artist. She went on to study at the School of Art Institute of Chicago and then attended the Art Students League in New York. Shortly after this time she gave up on her dream of a career of an artist, because she felt as if she was only doing art to please others. There was no freedpm in the art that was being taught. She soon returned to art, and began to experiment with abstract art.

Georgia O'Keeffe enjoyed painting in the New Mexican area of the United States, where liked to paint bones and flowers. Her flower paintings are large than life, and she said that she painted them this big so that the paintings would be noticed. Some flower paintings have been accused of representing a veiled illusion of female genitalia.

All of her inspirations came straight from her own mind. This is explained by the fact that all of her flowers express her emotional moods. Because of her specific style of art, she has become known as the "Root of Abstract Art."

Alfred Stieglitz, O'Keeffe's future husband, put up her art work in his gallery 291 without her permission. After this misunderstanding they soon became close friends exchanging letters frequently, and she eventually stayed in New York because that's where Alfred Stieglitz lived, however after Alfred died she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stieglitz was a photographer as well as an art curator, and over time took over 350 portraits of Georgia O'Keeffe. In fact, she chose her house in Albuquerque because of the door.

Georgia O'Keeffe died on March 6, 1986, at the age of 98, two years short of her goal to live to be one-hundred. She had continued to work with charcoal until 1984.

Many of Georgia O'Keeffe's works are housed in a museum dedicated to her life located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum began as home to 94 works of art by O'Keeffe, however in 2006 they expanded to 981 works. These works include paintings, drawings, sculptures, sketches, and photographs by the woman. They also have 1,770 photographs of O'Keeffe's life, houses, friends, and subject by variouse photographers.

A multitude of books have also been published about O'Keeffe, she has even been feature in National Geographic articles.