Exploring Great Artists

Georgia O'Keeffe

Copyright information & photo credit here

Summary: 

Georgia O'Keeffe was an American artist. She was best known for paintings of flowers, southwestern landscapes and animal bone structures. O'Keeffe studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York. O'Keefe married photographer and art dealer, Alfred Stieglitz, who gave O'Keeffe her first gallery show in 1924. Georgia O'Keefe was considered the "mother of American Modernism".


Body of Work:

Georgia O'Keeffe experimented with perspective. She focused on line and color as she framed close-ups of flowers. Below, is an image of a red canna lily painted by O'Keeffe which can be found in a permanent collection at the High Museum of Art. As an artist, Georgia O'Keefe did not like viewers making their own assumptions or interpretations about her art, particularly her flower paintings. She was quoted saying, "Well – I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower – and I don't." (Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures: 315-30.) Of more than 2,000 works, O'Keeffe painted about 200 flowers. 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Canna, 1919, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Georgia O'Keeffe, 1960. Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In the summer of 1929, O'Keefe discovered a new inspiration for her art when she visited New Mexico for the first time. She was taken by the landscape, architecture, and Navajo culture. O'Keefe lovingly nicknamed New Mexico "the faraway". In the summers, she escaped from New York to "the faraway" to paint. She stayed true to her artistic voice and made a distinct choice not to conform to an art movement or popular style. O'Keefe created her own style. Connecting to her art was important to her. Later in life, when she lost her sight, O'Keefe enlisted the assistance of several companions to enable her to paint again.

Georgia O'Keefe, Black Cross, 1929, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Georgia O'Keefe, Cow's Skull, 1931, The Met, New York, NY.

Art Education Accelerated Planning Project

Activity Title: O'Keeffe Macro Flower Paintings 

Teacher: Ms. K Brewer

Grade Level: High School (9-12)

Media: Painting

Time/ Number of Sessions: Approximately 3 class periods

Objectives: 

1. Students will analyze a macro perspective of a flower in real life or a photograph of a flower. 
2. Students will create line, shape and color painting with watercolor.
3. Students will apply their knowledge of Georgia O'Keeffe flower paintings to their own unique flower compositions. 

Procedure:

1. Students observe various photographs of flowers and images of Georgia O'Keefe's flower paintings. 
2. Students receive a 9" x 9" watercolor paper and square view finder. 
3. Students use the view finder to choose a macro composition of a flower image.
4. With light pressure, students draw macro flower composition on square watercolor paper. 
5. Students will display line, shape and color painting with watercolor using the entire composition space.
6. Students compare and contrast their original macro flower paintings with O'Keeffe's flower paintings. 

Art Materials:

• Photographs of flowers and images of Georgia O'Keefe's flower paintings
• 9" x 9" watercolor paper
• soft lead pencil for drawing
• small container of water
• watercolor palette
• watercolor brushes
• post-it notes for critique (assessment)

Vocabulary:

1. Georgia O'Keeffe - an American artist best known for paintings of flowers, southwestern landscapes and animal bone structures. 
2. Macro - extreme close-up of a relatively small object
3. Line- a point moving in space, element of art (curved, straight, jagged, thin, thick, etc.)
4. Shape - a flat enclosed area, element of art.
5. Color - produced when light shines on an object and reflects back to the eye. 

Technology: PowerPoint presentation

Video Interview

Accommodations: 

To be determined based on individual student needs, IEP information and accommodation recommendations.

Interdisciplinary/ Cultural Connections: Flowers, landscapes and New Mexico Culture.

Evaluation/ Assessment: 

Peer Critique and Gallery Walk - students will number a post-it from 1-4 and place it by their own artwork. Students will do a gallery walk in the classroom and comment on 4 different artworks by peers. Students will utilize art vocabulary in a complete sentence. 

1. Describe

2. Analyze

3. Interpret

4. Evaluate

Example: Drawing & Painting Student Artwork

To explore more great artists, go visit my friend, Lauren.

Thank you for visiting!

Ms. B