Georgia O'Keeffe Quotes

Powerful Georgia O'Keeffe for Daily Growth

About Georgia O'Keeffe

**Georgia Totto O'Keeffe** (1887-1986), a renowned American modernist artist, was born on November 15, 1887, in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She is best known for her distinctive style that emphasized enlarged, precisely painted blossoms, animal skulls, and New Mexico landscapes, which she called "nature of the Southwest." O'Keeffe was raised on a farm in Wisconsin before moving to Virginia at age eight. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1905 to 1906, then continued her studies at the Art Students League of New York and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. In 1912, she received a scholarship to study abroad in Germany, where she was influenced by the works of Munch and Cézanne. In 1916, O'Keeffe had her first solo exhibition at the Anderson Galleries in New York City, which included her charcoal drawing "Petunia No. 2," now recognized as one of the iconic works of American modernism. In the same year, she painted her first magnolia petals and radish roots, which marked a significant departure from her earlier watercolors and influenced her later work. In 1918, O'Keeffe moved to New York City and developed a close friendship with the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who became her mentor and eventually her husband in 1924. Their relationship is often seen as intertwined with O'Keeffe's artistic development. During this period, she created some of her most famous works, including "Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills" (1936) and "Sky Above Clouds IV" (1965). In 1949, O'Keeffe moved to Abiquiú, New Mexico, where she lived for nearly two decades, painting the surrounding landscapes. She continued to work until her death in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on March 6, 1986, at the age of 98. Georgia O'Keeffe's art continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for."

This quote by Georgia O'Keeffe emphasizes her unique artistic expression through visual mediums, suggesting that colors and shapes can convey emotions or ideas that are beyond the realm of verbal language. In essence, she found solace in abstracting complex feelings and thoughts into artistic forms, giving voice to aspects of life that defy conventional articulation.

"I feel there is something unexplored about women - something preserved by modesty or perhaps prudishness."

This quote by Georgia O'Keeffe suggests that she felt a sense of untapped potential and mystery in women, which may have been hidden due to societal norms of modesty or traditional values. It implies that there are aspects of femininity that remain undiscovered, possibly because they are considered private or not openly discussed. This observation invites us to explore and understand these untold stories about women, which could lead to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the female experience.

"I have 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."

This quote by Georgia O'Keeffe highlights her courage in facing fear and overcoming it to pursue her passions, regardless of the level of terror or apprehension she felt. It suggests that fear should not be an impediment to personal growth, creativity, or achieving one's goals. Instead, we should confront our fears head-on and let them propel us forward rather than holding us back. In essence, it emphasizes the power of determination and resilience in overcoming challenges and realizing our ambitions.

"I want to paint the flower exactly as I see it - not as I understood it, but as I saw it."

This quote by Georgia O'Keeffe emphasizes her commitment to capturing the essence of her subject, flowers, in a truthful and unfiltered manner. She seeks to depict the visual perception of the flower as accurately as possible, rather than interpreting or projecting any personal understanding onto it. This approach allows her artwork to reflect the raw beauty and complexity that exists within nature, thereby evoking a sense of authenticity in her audience.

"There is a quality of emptiness mixed with anticipation in the New Mexico landscape that touches me as no other land does, and I sense this same quality in myself when I am there."

This quote highlights Georgia O'Keeffe's profound emotional connection to the landscape of New Mexico. The "quality of emptiness" she mentions likely refers to the vast open spaces, lack of human-made structures, and sparse vegetation found in this region, which can evoke feelings of solitude and tranquility. The "anticipation" suggests a sense of possibility or expectation associated with these empty spaces - as if they hold potential for new experiences, ideas, or self-discovery. In essence, O'Keeffe finds a reflection of her inner self in the desolate beauty of New Mexico's landscape.

Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since I cannot sing, I paint.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Think, Always, Means, Seemed

I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Nature, Beauty, Decided, Scale

One can't paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

New York, New, Rather, York

I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Education, Been, Decided, Anew

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

City, No Time, Your, Hand

It was in the 1920s, when nobody had time to reflect, that I saw a still-life painting with a flower that was perfectly exquisite, but so small you really could not appreciate it.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Small, 1920s, Perfectly, Flower

Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Time, Small, See, Flower

I often lay on that bench looking up into the tree, past the trunk and up into the branches. It was particularly fine at night with the stars above the tree.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Bench, Particularly, Lay, Branches

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Art, Color, Other, Any Other Way

Marks on paper are free - free speech - press - pictures all go together I suppose.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Free Speech, Go, Suppose, Marks

I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Could, Seemed, Painted, Fragments

I believe I would rather have Stieglitz like something - anything I had done - than anyone else I know.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Like, Rather, Had, I Believe

I don't very much enjoy looking at paintings in general. I know too much about them. I take them apart.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Enjoy, Very, About, Apart

I know now that most people are so closely concerned with themselves that they are not aware of their own individuality, I can see myself, and it has helped me to say what I want to say in paint.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Own, Concerned, Closely, Individuality

Anyone who doesn't feel the crosses simply doesn't get that country.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Country, Get, Anyone, Crosses

I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Natural, Like, Occurred, Near

I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Natural, Like, Occurred, Near

You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Get, Willing, Declare, Accomplishment

It was all so far away - there was quiet and an untouched feel to the country and I could work as I pleased.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Country, Away, Untouched, Far Away

One can not be an American by going about saying that one is an American. It is necessary to feel America, like America, love America and then work.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Love, Going, Necessary, Saying

I feel there is something unexplored about woman that only a woman can explore.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Women, Woman, Explore, Unexplored

I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Inspirational, My Life, Been, Single Thing

Sun-bleached bones were most wonderful against the blue - that blue that will always be there as it is now after all man's destruction is finished.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Will, Always, Against, Finished

I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at - not copy it.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

About, Equivalent, Felt, Copy

The days you work are the best days.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Work, Best, You, Days

To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Courage, World, Create, Takes

I hate flowers - I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.

- Georgia O'Keeffe

Flowers, Cheaper, Models, Paint

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