Born on November 15, 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe transformed how the world saw art, nature, and the self. Hailed as the “Mother of American Modernism,” she distilled flowers, bones, and landscapes into pure expressions of color and emotion.
Born on November 15, 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe transformed how the world saw art, nature, and the self. Hailed as the “Mother of American Modernism,” she distilled flowers, bones, and landscapes into pure expressions of color and emotion.
November 15, 2025
Born on November 15, 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe transformed how the world saw art, nature, and the self. Hailed as the “Mother of American Modernism,” she distilled flowers, bones, and landscapes into pure expressions of color and emotion.
Sensual and serene, O’Keeffe’s signature style magnified simple subjects until they became monumental. Works like Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) and Black Iris (1926) radiate power through sweeping curves and vibrant hues. While many critics read eroticism into her floral imagery, O’Keeffe insisted her focus was form and perception, not symbolism.
Setting record for work by female artist, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold for $44 million at Sotheby's. The price was far above the estimated $10 million, demonstrating O'Keeffe's unrivaled artistry and solidifying her influence in the art world.
Her artistic inspiration found its truest home in the American Southwest. The luminous skies, parched earth, and skeletal remains of New Mexico became both her refuge and her muse. Paintings like Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue (1931) and Horse Skull with White Rose (1931) capture her awe of nature’s permanence and her belief in beauty beyond human touch.
Her personal life was equally remarkable. Her long relationship with photographer Alfred Stieglitz was both creative and complex. He produced over 350 portraits and 200 nude photographs of her before retiring in 1937.
Reflecting decades later, O’Keeffe wrote “When I look over the photographs Stieglitz took of me, some of them more than sixty years ago, I wonder who that person is. It is as if in my one life I have lived many lives.”
Fiercely independent, O’Keeffe drove alone through the desert, painted into her nineties, and even turned to sculpting when her eyesight failed. Her legacy endures as a symbol of freedom, vision, and the unending dialogue between art and nature.
