Why Georgia O'Keeffe was a pioneer of American art
Stefan Dege kbm
December 9, 2016
US painter Georgia O'Keeffe became an icon in her home country and one of the most expensive artists in the world. Her art, suspended between the literal and the abstract, is now on show in Vienna.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
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Georgia O'Keeffe - American art pioneer on show in Vienna
US painter Georgia O'Keeffe became an icon in her home country and one of the most expensive artists in the world. Her art, suspended between the literal and the abstract, is now on show in Vienna.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
Biggest O'Keeffe exhibition outside the US
The Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition that is currently running at the Kunstforum in Vienna - the largest O'Keeffe show outside of the US - was first presented at the Tate Modern in London. More than 70 collectors lent their works for the exhibition, including "Oriental Poppies" from 1927.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
Pioneer of American art
Georgia O'Keeffe title this work, created from 1952 to 1954, "My Last Door" - an ambiguous title that also referred to the fact that she was aging. She foreshadowed not only abstract expressionism, but also minimalism and Pop Art. O'Keeffe is considered a pioneer of American art.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
Painter with a legacy
Georgia O'Keeffe is an American icon. As a painter, she defined modern art in the US and reinvented it over and over again. The Kunstforum in Vienna is presenting an overview of her works; they are rarely on show in Europe.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
Costly blossom
A real O'Keeffe will cost you a fortune. This work, "Jimson Weed/White Flower" sold at auction for $44.5 million. O'Keeffe created a bridge between abstract and figurative art. This painting almost feels like close-up photography.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien/E. C. Robison III
Dramatic landscapes
The colors and shapes of the New Mexico landscapes fascinated O'Keeffe and she recreated them in stunning interpretations. The northern region of New Mexico is known as O'Keeffe Country. Pictured is "Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico / Out Back of Marie's II" from 1930.
Image: 2009 Georgia O'Keeffe
Fascination with the desert
In New Mexico, Georgia O'Keeffe was fascinated by the faded bones and skeletons she found in the desert. She saw abstract objects in them, describing the remains as the most beautiful thing she'd seen. Pictured is "From the Faraway, Nearby" from 1937.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien/BKP/The Metropolitan Museum of Art/M. Varon
A symbol for feminine art
Erotic photos taken by O'Keeffe's husband and supporter Alfred Stieglitz in the 1920s turned the artist into a symbol for feminine American art. The influential Stieglitz was not just a photographer, but also a gallery owner and patron.
Image: National Gallery of Art, Washington/Board of Trustees
Not the 'best woman painter'
Georgia O'Keeffe was photographed by Myron Wood in 1980. The artist lived to the age of 98. Many considered her to be a gruff hermit. She never let herself be swept up by feminism or eroticism, though both were interpreted in her works. "The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I'm one of the best painters," she famously said.
Image: National Gallery of Art, Washington/Board of Trustees
Retrospective in Vienna
"Black Cross with Stars and Blue" is the title of this painting from 1929. The Kunstforum in Vienna is showing Georgia O'Keeffe's works through March 26, 2017, before the exhibition moves on to Toronto.
Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
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Her iconic animal skulls, desert landscapes and flowers are among the some 100 work by Georgia O'Keeffe that are now being exhibited at Bank Austria's private art museum, the Kunstforum, in Vienna.
The show has just come, slightly modified, from London, where it was on display at the Tate Modern through late October. The largest O'Keeffe exhibition to take place outside the US focuses on the painter's oeuvre between 1915 and 1963 - a period in which she created over 1,000 works.
Georgia O'KeeffeImage: AP
In Vienna as well, the exhibition traces the various periods in O'Keeffe's career, supplementing the works with biographical information.
Photographs of the artist herself, taken by her husband Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and others, are also on display.
Most expensive female artist
Her iconic "Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1" from 1932, which resembles a close-up photo of a blossom, is a must at any O'Keeffe exhibition. It was auctioned in November 2014 for $44.5 million (41.5 million euros), making it the most expensive artwork created by a female artist.
"The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I'm one of the best painters," O'Keeffe famously said. Such statements were typical of the artist, who established herself as a pioneer of American modern art.
O'Keeffe is known for her pictures of faded animal skulls, dramatic desert landscapes, and erotic looking flowers. Inspired by nature, her style meshed both representational and abstract painting.
Born in Wisconsin, O'Keeffe decided to become an artist by the age of 12. She achieved her breakthrough in the 1920s in New York, where she met her husband, renowned photographer Alfred Stieglitz.
O'Keeffe would later spend time in New Mexico, whose deserts became one of her greatest muses.
"Black door with Red" from 1954Image: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Bildrecht, Wien
