artist profile: georgia o'keeffe

georgia o'keeffe was born november 15, 1887 in sun prarie, wisconsin to francis and ida o'keeffe. she was one of seven children. georgia grew up on her parents' dairy farm. her mother found it very important that georgia and her siblings had a good education. she also had an art teacher come teach georgia on their farm once art sparked an interest in georgia. when she was older, georgia went on to study at the school of the art institute of chicago for a year, then at the art students league in new york, and eventually at the university of virginia. during georgia's life, there were many important events going on, including the great depression, both world wars, the korean war, and the vietnam war. georgia herself faced struggles of her own that delayed her career, such as typhoid fever; measles, which left her eyes temporarily weakened; her mother caught tuberculosis; and her parents' business wasn't doing well, both of those things putting a strain on their marriage. despite these setbacks, she became a very famous american artist during her lifetime and beyond. the majority of her art was done in oil, however she did many watercolor paintings as well. she was part of the american modernism period. her most well known paintings were those of giant, close up flowers and desert scenes, but she also did several of new york and even a few nude paintings. some of her most famous works are jimson weed, cow's scull: red, white, and blue, and yellow hickory leaves with daisy. georgia married alfred stieglitz, the man behind her first gallery show. she died at 98 years old on march 6, 1986.

georgia o'keeffe

yellow hickory leaves with daisy

cow's skull: red, white, and blue