Georgia O'Keefe
Georgia O 'Keefe
Georgia O 'Keefe is a famous American painter who painted beautiful flowers and landscapes. But she painted these images in such a way that many people believed she was portraying sexual imagery. "O 'Keefe 's depictions of flowers in strict frontality and enlarged to giant scale were entirely original in character . . . the view into the open blossoms evoked an image of the female psyche and invited erotic associations." (Joachimides 47) O 'Keefe denies these allegations and says that she "magnified the scale of the flower only to ensure people would notice them." (Haskell 203) O 'Keefe 's artwork was misinterpreted because of cultural prejudice, her non-traditional lifestyle, and gender bias art criticism. But despite these accusations, Georgia O 'Keefe 's artwork was not based on sexuality.
O 'Keefe was born on November 15, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Her parents were dairy farmers and throughout her childhood she lived on her family 's farm. Georgia had a rough childhood growing up on the farm. Her mother did not especially like her and when she was not busy ignoring her, she treated her very badly. Although her mother disliked her, Georgia 's father loved her unconditionally and gave her the love her mother deprived her of. But he also molested her, a tramatizing drawback that would follow her for the rest of her life. Although she knew what her father was doing was wrong, she refused to admit this to herself because he was the only loved one she truly had. So, when Georgia 's father left, she was heartbroken (Hogrefe 14). "The abandonment she must have felt when he left the family had repercussions for the rest of her life as she refused to get close to many of her male companions . . .her closest male friends were homosexual . . . and she spurned men who sought sexual intimacy with her." (15) After her father left, Georgia was sent to live with her aunt who punished her frequently by secluding her in her room and
Georgia O 'Keefe is a famous American painter who painted beautiful flowers and landscapes. But she painted these images in such a way that many people believed she was portraying sexual imagery. "O 'Keefe 's depictions of flowers in strict frontality and enlarged to giant scale were entirely original in character . . . the view into the open blossoms evoked an image of the female psyche and invited erotic associations." (Joachimides 47) O 'Keefe denies these allegations and says that she "magnified the scale of the flower only to ensure people would notice them." (Haskell 203) O 'Keefe 's artwork was misinterpreted because of cultural prejudice, her non-traditional lifestyle, and gender bias art criticism. But despite these accusations, Georgia O 'Keefe 's artwork was not based on sexuality.
O 'Keefe was born on November 15, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Her parents were dairy farmers and throughout her childhood she lived on her family 's farm. Georgia had a rough childhood growing up on the farm. Her mother did not especially like her and when she was not busy ignoring her, she treated her very badly. Although her mother disliked her, Georgia 's father loved her unconditionally and gave her the love her mother deprived her of. But he also molested her, a tramatizing drawback that would follow her for the rest of her life. Although she knew what her father was doing was wrong, she refused to admit this to herself because he was the only loved one she truly had. So, when Georgia 's father left, she was heartbroken (Hogrefe 14). "The abandonment she must have felt when he left the family had repercussions for the rest of her life as she refused to get close to many of her male companions . . .her closest male friends were homosexual . . . and she spurned men who sought sexual intimacy with her." (15) After her father left, Georgia was sent to live with her aunt who punished her frequently by secluding her in her room and
Bibliography: Eisler, Benita. O 'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance. New York: Double Day, 1991. York: Abbeville Press, 1989. Hogrefe, Jeffrey. O 'Keeffe: The Life of an American Legend. New York: Bantam Books, 1992. Robinson, Roxana. Georgia O 'Keeffe: A Life. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1989.