Musings on the Metropolis Features Article for Students

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe/Art Resource, NY

Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe was born in Wisconsin in 1887, and moved to New York City in 1918. The city bustled with possibilities that matched the aspiring artist’s ambitions. Steamboats whistled up and down Manhattan’s rivers, lively musicians played on street corners, and skyscrapers rose from the ground at an extraordinary pace. New York City’s energy inspired O’Keeffe, who said, “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.”

O’Keeffe used some key Precisionist techniques in her paintings of the city. Her compositions include simple geometric forms, minimal details, and simplified colors. But despite this austere approach, her paintings are full of emotion. “I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at—not copy it,” she explained.

Georgia O’Keeffe was born in Wisconsin in 1887. She moved to New York City in 1918. The city was growing quickly. Steamboats whistled along rivers, musicians played songs on the street, and skyscrapers were being built at a rapid pace. This exciting energy inspired O’Keeffe.

The artist used key Precisionist techniques in her paintings of the city. She includes geometric forms, few details, and simple colors. But unlike some Precisionist works, O’Keeffe’s art is full of emotion.

From 1925 to 1936, O’Keeffe lived at the Shelton Hotel with her husband, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The hotel opened in 1924 and, at the time, was the tallest in the world. In her 1926 work The Shelton With Sunspots, N.Y., above, O’Keeffe explores a fresh perspective by painting the Shelton from below, emphasizing the skyscraper’s height and grandiosity.

Speaking about her inspiration for this painting, O’Keeffe explained she had gone out one morning, “and there was the optical illusion of a bite out of one side of the tower made by the sun, with sunspots against the building and against the sky.” By including these luminous elements next to the building’s hard stone edges, O’Keeffe unites the natural world and the constructed one.

From 1925 to 1936, O’Keeffe lived at New York City’s Shelton Hotel. It opened in 1924 and was the tallest hotel in the world at that time. O’Keeffe depicts it in her 1926 painting The Shelton with Sunspots, N.Y., above. She explores a fresh perspective by painting the hotel from below. This emphasizes the skyscraper’s height.

O’Keeffe was inspired one morning when she went outside. The hotel looked like there was “a bite out of one side of the tower made by the sun, with sunspots against the building and against the sky.” She paints the sunlight next to the building’s hard stone edges. This unites nature with the human-made world in her work.

At the Shelton Hotel, O’Keeffe lived on the 30th floor. From this aerial perspective, she had a panoramic view of the waterfront and Long Island City, which she painted in her 1928 East River From the Shelton Hotel, above.

O’Keeffe renders ethereal smoke billowing from factories alongside simplified buildings. No humans appear in the scene, which seems desolate, lonely, and impersonal. O’Keeffe conveys a sense of gloom and nostalgia, perhaps questioning modernity and the country’s growing dependence on factories from her room above the city.

O’Keeffe lived on the 30th floor of the Shelton. This gave her a sweeping view of the waterfront and Long Island City. In her 1928 East River from the Shelton Hotel, above, she paints simplified buildings and wispy smoke from factories. No humans appear in the scene, making it seem lonely and distant.

O’Keeffe expresses a sense of gloom. She might be questioning modern life and factories from her room above the city.

O’Keeffe’s paintings of New York City captured critics’ attention. By the mid-1920s, she was one of America’s most important and successful artists. But O’Keeffe didn’t hesitate to leave the city when she could.

In her 1923-24 Spring, above, O’Keeffe paints a small building in Upstate New York, where she and Stieglitz frequently spent their summers. O’Keeffe continues to use clean lines and simple shapes, maintaining her Precisionist technique even as she focuses on a setting in the countryside. In fact, O’Keeffe chose not to paint the chimney and the siding that were on the building. She does incorporate flowers, clouds, and grass, which add a softness to the image.

This artwork foreshadows elements of the artist’s future. Around the same time, O’Keeffe began experimenting with tightly-cropped, abstract paintings of flowers. Today most people know her for these now-iconic artworks.

O’Keeffe’s paintings of New York City captured the attention of art critics. By the mid-1920s, she was one of America’s most important artists. But she didn’t only paint New York City. She’d travel to quieter parts of the country to find inspiration.

O’Keeffe often spent summers in Upstate New York. Her 1923-24 painting Spring, above, depicts a small building the artist would spend time in. O’Keeffe continued to use Precisionist techniques like clean lines and simple shapes. To make the scene even simpler, she didn't paint the chimney and siding that were on the actual building. But she does include flowers, clouds, and grass. This adds a softness to the image.

This artwork hints at the artist’s future. Soon, O’Keeffe began creating her now-famous flower paintings