Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe was one of the first female artists that I studied at Barnsley art college. I fell in love with her colourful paintings of flowers. Twenty plus years later it is a real joy to see her work in my hometown of Barnsley. The current exhibition at Barnsley Civic is called Memories of Drawings. This exhibition features 21 photogravures of drawings created by O’Keeffe between 1915-1963. It’s a small collection but the intricate simplicity of these works tell a story through delicate shading. It is worth a visit to the gallery to view them. 

Georgia O’Keeffe was born in 1887, in Wisconsin, to a family of dairy farmers. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905 and the Art Students League in New York City in 1907. While teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina, Georgia created a series of charcoal drawings that gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz exhibited at his 291 gallery in New York. This kick started her career within the art industry and she became known for her abstract works and landscapes. Georgia moved to New York in 1918, where she became a central figure in the American modernist movement (becoming the first female painter to do so). Her primary subjects were landscapes, flowers, and bones, that she created while travelling widely around the world. 

Georgia passed away in March 1986, at the age of 98. Her work continues to inspire generations of artists and art lovers. In 2014 one of her floral paintings sold for £28.8 million, which at that time set the record for a artwork by a female artist. Her unique way of painting nature, simplifying its shapes means she will always be seen as one of the great female artists. For me, as a young student, she inspired me greatly and I keep coming back to her. I continue to learn, and enjoy looking at her body of work. Her words equally inspire me. Thank you Barnsley Civic for bringing this exhibition to Barnsley.     

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.”
— Georgia O’Keeffe”