"Someone else's vision will never be as good as your own vision of yourself. Live and die with it 'cause in the end it's all you have. Loose it and you lose yourself and everything else" -Georgia O'Keeffe
Welcome to post number 4 in the Studios of Inspiration Series! Today we will dive into the studio of the artist I've admired since I was 10 years old.
Georgia O'Keeffe was one of the first artists I fell in love with. I wanted to grow up to be like her. Confident, a strong independent spirit, and most importantly, an artist.
Her home and studio reflects what she projected into the world. A self-assured woman, someone who could be, and valued being, alone. Formiddable and discerning in her style and how she carried herself. Her Abiquiú home is minimal, natural, and striking.
"It is only by selection, by elimination, and by emphasis that we get at the real meaning of things."
Georgia was born November 15, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. By the time she was 10, she had decided to become an artist. She took watercolor classes with two of her sisters. Her family moved to Virginia and she joined them in 1903. She attended school at the Art Institute of Chicago and later became a commercial illustrator. She developed her unique style with watercolor and later charcoal abstractions. She became an art teacher in Texas and created her abstractions prolifically. She developed a fondness for intense color and took inspiration from walks through nature.
A friend secretly sent some of Georgia's work off to the famous photographer and art dealer Alfred Steiglitz. He held an exhibition of her work in 1917. A year later, with Steiglitz's encoragment and support she moved to New York and began working seriously as an artist. He began photographing her and they fell in love. He left his wife. They worked alongside of each other, and were married in 1924. She developed her paintings of up-close flowers. Many believed them to be representations of vulvas, which she denied. Her work was sexualized even further when Steiglitz exhibited his sensual nude photographs of her.
They lived together in New York. Many of her paintings during the mid 20's we're of skyscrapers at night, lit from within and by the light of the moon. She had traded the vast landscape for the cityscape and her mental wellbeing suffered. Her paintings during this time in New York were of skyscrapers, up close flowers, or landscapes painted at the Stieglitz summer home near Lake George.
In 1929, O'Keeffe visited artist friends in New Mexico. She was given a studio to work in during her time there. She fell in love with the Taos Mountians viewed through her window. From then on she went to New Mexico each year, sometimes for several months, returning to New York, and Steiglitz, in the winters to exhibit her work. She spent much of her time exploring the land and collecting bones, rocks, and branches. which served as inspiration for her paintings of landscapes, local architecture, and images of animal skulls.
From 1930 - 1934 she did not produce any artwork, suffering from Stieglitz's behavior and several nervous breakdowns. In August of 1934, she moved to Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiú.
She often talked about her fondness for Ghost Ranch, as in 1943, "Such a beautiful, untouched lonely feeling place, such a fine part of what I call the 'Faraway'. It is a place I have painted before ... even now I must do it again."
O'Keeffe broke free of "strict gender roles" and adopted "gender neutral" clothing. She enjoyed the psychological space and sexual freedom there. O’Keeffe notably had flirtations with Frida Kahlo and a close relationship with Rebecca Strand, which many speculate was romantic. She gave names to favorite places in the desert and camped with visiting friends. She kept a garden and enjoyed cooking healthy meals. She ritualized her days with meaning and purpose. She made some of her most famous works there.
In 1946, she became the first female artist to have a retrospective at MoMA. This was also the year Steiglitz died.
1972, O'Keeffe lost much of her eyesight due to macular degeneration, and while she painted with assistance, (from her assistant/caretaker/young lover) she began working with clay. She died in 1986 at age 98.
On to, what we've gathered here for, the home studio!!
Part of her artistic practice was time spent in nature.
Her peaceful and simple bedroom.
Georgia in her, very organized, studio.
Can you imagine working with these views?!
Her home is preserved and open for tours. I would love to visit someday. Learn more about the museum here.
P.S. she had specific sartorial taste, rejecting trends, and even sewing her own clothing. Below, pictured at Lake George, she is wearing a dress she designed herself, complete with hand-smocking.
I encourage you to go see her work in person if you can. And also, to read more about her life and work.
Book recommendation:
Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe by Laurie Lisle
Happy Birthday Georgia 💗
