The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

By Jan Castro

Book Overview

Paperback

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517883872
• ISBN13: 9780517883877
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, The
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 9.1" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

An excellent, defining book

Who is Georgia O'Keeffe? Why did she paint those flowers so HUGE? Why did she paint things of the desert? What kind of relationships did she have? Why is New Mexico so important? Ask no longer. The answers to all those questions and so much more are found right here in "The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe" just as the title indicates. I love this book! I have poured and poured through it, reading excerpts of her life, about her art. Even the controversies are here. Wouldn't you know that stories and explanations of such an icon of both art and a bold way to live one's life would be here. What a woman! What an artisan! But such a life and resulting art were not without pain. She and Alfred Stieglitz (her husband and famous photographer) had a controversial relationship (especially for the time period). They practically ripped their clothes off at their first meeting. He had to have this woman (they eventually married after his divorce), but artist that he was, he also had to have other women. His unfaithfulness was the one thing that could unravel this strong woman. But, oh my! She, too, was unfaithful, especially after moving to New Mexico, the home of her heart. During the time I taught art history at the high school level, I used this book for information about Georgia O'Keeffe. Everything I needed was here, including fascinating personal stories from childhood to the productive and relatively peaceful (not boring!) years in New Mexico. How her art developed from the usual realistic views of nature and places to the very personal O'Keeffe viewpoint are here. Stieglitz was an essential catalyst. Her relationships with both friends and fellow artists are illuminated. If there is a better book about O'Keeffe, I hope I discover it. As for me and now, "The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe" is highly recommended for its personal stories, explanations of her art, and evaluations of both.

A Successful Look at O'Keeffe

Surely it is difficult to sift through an artist's life and write about only the meaningful moments/events. Castro does a good job with this, including what is important and omitting the tedious. Her art criticism is simple and easy to understand and her approach seems balanced. My major complaint with the book is that while she may discuss a painting on page 15, it may well appear on page 200 - with no note or appendix making it possible to find the plate.

GOT TO HAVE BOOK!

This book is insperational with amazing insights in her art work and lifestyle. if you want to find out about this amazing woman and her art work you should buy this book!

New to the Details of O'Keeffe

Having always been familiar with her work, this book provided me with a good synopsis of her life and her art. The book has a good layout, and a "tasty" palette of her art and color to feed on.