Georgia O’KeefeModern

Ram’s Head, White Hollyhock and Little Hills

Modern art usually refers to art that has been created since 1900.

The main idea behind modern art is that artists are more interested in painting what they are thinking and feeling instead of only what they are seeing.

What do you see in this painting?

Do you think this is a painting of something real?

Do you think there is anything unusual about this painting?

Do you like this painting?

Modern Art

Georgia O’Keefe

Georgia O’Keefe was born in 1887 on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. If she were alive today, she would be over 120 years old.

She knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an artist. More than that, she knew that she wanted to be self-sufficient and to make her own way in the world as an artist.

This was not an easy goal for a woman in the early 1900’s. Women were not taken seriously as artists just because they were women.

Two Calla Lilies on Pink

O’Keefe was determined. She studied art at the best art programs in the country. She did become discouraged when she felt that her work was not taken seriously, but she always returned to her art.

O’Keefe worked as an art teacher to support herself while she pursued her art.

Eventually, she was able to support herself with her art and moved to New York City where she lived and worked as an artist.

Pink Sweetpeas

Light IrisIn her art, O’Keefe wanted to show not just what she saw, but also what she thought and how she felt.

She was not interested in copying something exactly as her eyes saw it, like a photograph. She wanted her work to show more than that.

Georgia O’Keefe once said, “Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”

O’Keefe’s work was completely original. No one had ever seen art like hers before. She filled the entire canvas with a part of a flower. Her paintings were all about color and lines. People really liked her work, and she became quite famous and well-respected in her lifetime.

Light Iris

What is this a painting of?

How does this painting make you feel?

Do you think you would like this art better if it were a photograph instead of a painting? Why?

Daltura and PedernalO’Keefe took a vacation to

New Mexico with a friend when she was 42 years old.

She fell in love with the desert mountains of New Mexico and spent many summers there painting.

She finally moved to New Mexico when she was 62, and she lived the rest of her life there.

You can see the influence of the New Mexican desert landscape in much of O’Keefe’s work.

What do you see in this painting?

What is unusual about this painting?

Do you like this painting? Why?

Pelvis with Shadow and the

MoonWhat do you think this is a

painting of?– It’s a painting of a

pelvis bone in the moonlight.

Again in this painting O’Keefe fills the whole canvas with a detailed painting of an object.

This painting seems to be even more about colors and shapes than her other paintings.

Do you think that the circle in the sky looks like a moon? Why or why not?

Does this painting look like it’s painted in the desert? How can you tell?

Art in Action!

Draw a picture of something very close-up.

Only draw part of the object. Be as detailed as you can.

Fill up your whole page with your drawing.

Oriental Poppies

Suggested stories to read to the class:

Through Georgia’s Eyes by Julia Paschkis

Georgia’s Bones by Jen Bryant

My name is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette WInter