From majestic desert landscapes to lilies and magnified irises, see the unique and luminous work of Georgia O'Keeffe, a major figure in modern American art and a radical pioneer of abstraction. This book follows the artist through her innovations, her great achievements and her inspiring travels in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and New Mexico.

Powerful nature

The Pioneering Forms of Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) was a major figure in American modern art for seven decades. Her fame was not associated with changing artistic trends and styles, but with her unique vision, based on the search for abstract and essential forms in nature.
O'Keeffe's primary subjects were landscapes, flowers and bones, which she developed in different series over several years. Some works spanned decades and resulted in a dozen or more variations on the same image. By enlarging the tiniest petals to fill huge canvases, O'Keeffe created a proto-abstract language of shapes and lines that earned her the nickname of the mother of modern American art. In 1946, O'Keeffe became the first woman to have a solo exhibition at MoMA in New York.
This introduction to TASCHEN's Basic Art 2.0 series uncovers O'Keeffe's long and luminous career through key paintings, photographs of her time, and portraits of her by her husband Alfred Stieglitz. We follow the artist through her greatest creations and successes, and accompany her on her inspiring international travels, from Southeast Asia to India, the Middle East and, in particular, New Mexico, full of magnificent landscapes, vivid colours and exotic vegetation.

About the author

Britta Benke studied art history, classical archaeology and Romance languages in Göttingen, Münster and Bonn. Georgia O'Keeffe is the main focus of her research and the subject of her dissertations.

Publisher: Taschen