Georgia O'Keeffe: Painter FROM THE PUBLISHER
Georgia O'Keefe, renowned as one of the 20th century's greatest painters, was a pioneer of modern art. One of the first to express a woman's viewpoint on canvas, O'Keefe also earned new respect for American art. Her gigantic flowers, vibrant cityscapes, and desert scenes remain among the best loved and most familiar works of their period.
Born in 1887 in Wisconsin, O'Keefe spent her youth in places as varied as Virginia and Texas, developing her skills in settings such as the famed Art Students League in New York City. When Alfred Stieglitz, photographer and gallery owner, saw some of O'Keefe's early work, he recognized her singular talent and hung an exhibition that launched her career. A few years later he convinced the unconventional, independent artist to marry him. O'Keeffe continued to paint for the next 61 years, living a reclusive life in New Mexico following Steiglitz's death in 1946. Art critics praised her work, and the world's art museums and connoisseurs added it to their collections. By the time she died in 1986, O'Keefe had established herself as a true giant of modern American art. Today, a new generation of art lovers has discovered O'Keefe's remarkable paintings - and her unique inner vision.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
One of 50 titles in the American Women of Achievement series for young adults, this is a well-written, accessible account of one of the century's foremost artists. O'Keeffe was a strong-minded and unorthodox painter determined not to compromise her artistic vision. These qualities are revealed in the book's opening scene, which recounts the 28-year-old artist's outrage when a prestigious gallery mounted her first exhibition--without her permission. And they remain in evidence throughout Berry's discussion of her years as a student and teacher of art, wife and protegee of the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and resident of the New Mexico desert that fired her imagination. Berry makes good use of anecdotal detail as well as quotations from O'Keeffe, her contemporaries and her reviewers, and he is perceptive about both her life and art. The text is supplemented by a variety of photographs and reproductions, including an eight-page color insert. Chronology, bibliography and index are included. Other figures profiled in the series are Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart and Margaret Bourke-White. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
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