Georgia o Keefee and Alfred Stieglitz

 Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer born in 1864 and he studied engineering in Germany but this subject did not fascinate him and later on moved back to New York in 1880.  He met Georgia O`Keeffe in 1916 when he was 52 and well known but she was 28 unknown schoolteacher . At the time he owned an avant-grade Gallery in Manhattan and dealt with photography which he liked. Alfred was part of camera club in New York and found the policies of this club restrictive in 1902. 
  

For O'Keeffe it was the colour and form that was more important than the subject matter, which is why her flowers occupy the whole canvas letting the audience focus on the details and on the colours rather than on whole flower itself.  The calla lily, poppy, canna, iris, petunia, and jimson weed seemed to be one of her favourites. 

When Alfred Stieglitz first saw her work in 1916, he was captivated and a year later O'Keeffe's art was shown in his gallery. In her paintings, she wanted to show natural world in its simplest form and combined both what could be seen and what was omitted. It is noted, that enlarged flowers often resemble, cropped close up photographs which gave the viewer a sense of looking at the blossom under magnification. Some of her more well-known floral masterpieces include “Black Iris,” “Blue Morning Glories,” “Jimson Weed,” “Oriental Poppies,” and “Red Canna.”

The relationship that O'Keefe and Steiglitz formed was intense and emotional one, to the point that in 1933, she spent some time in hospital following a nervous breakdown. having lived in New Mexico for some time, O'Keefe returned to New Your when Steiglitz died. Even though she was a female artist in a male dominated world, her art received praise and recognition both when she was alive and after her death. She is best known for her flower paintings, of which she created about 200. The resemblance of the close-up interior of the flowers to female genitalia, sparked controversy but author denied it being her intention and brought the focus back to  essence of flower itself, but her objections were not successful among male critics.

 She revolutionised art. with her flowers, skyscrapers and landscapes and is known as ‘mother of American modernism’. Flowers became a major influence on Georgia O'Keeffe when she was in high-school, which is when she started studying their shapes and textures. First, her paintings were done in watercolour and showed traditional flowers. While in New York City, medium changed to oil and her flowers became bigger and bigger. The size of the canvas allowed her to focus the viewers’ attention only on the flower as if it was the most important thing in the world. She was influenced by the works of Arthur Wesley Dow, who wanted to show the essence of an object and not its exact image. She tried to convey her feelings and sensations though her art.

Georgia o Keefe 

Georgia O’ Keeffe Red Poppy Painting

Between 1915 and 1946 Stieglitz and O` Keeffe exchanged 25 000 pieces of letters. They wrote sometimes 2-3 letters a day, sometimes 40 pages long. 

"I'm getting to like you so tremendously that it some times scares me," O'Keeffe writes from Canyon, Texas, on Nov. 4, 1916. " ... Having told you so much of me — more than anyone else I know — could anything else follow but that I should want you — "

Stieglitz photographed Georgia often. Below we can see pictures of her. 

pictures of Georgia

The couple got married in 1924.

Reference:

https://artdependence.com/articles/the-symbolism-of-flowers-in-the-art-of-georgia-o-keeffe/

http://teresabernardart.com/the-flower-paintings-of-georgia-okeeffe/

https://www.thecollector.com/georgia-okeeffe-art-master-of-flowers/

Stieglitz And O'Keeffe: Their Love And Life In Letters : NPR [Accessed: 03.02.2022]

Image reference: 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Stieglitz [Accessed:02.02.2022]

https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/about-georgia-okeeffe/ [Accessed:02.02.2022]

https://artisticjunkie.com/georgia-o-keeffe-paintings/ [Accessed: 02.02.2022]

https://archive.artic.edu/stieglitz/portraits-of-georgia-okeeffe/ [Accessed:03.02.2022]