Words To Live By: Georgia O'Keeffe
One of the most significant and revolutionary artists, the painter Georgia O’Keeffe rose to prominence for her stylised renditions of New York cityscapes, New Mexico landscapes, and imposing paintings of flowers in bloom.
O’Keeffe was one of the first female artists to achieve worldwide critical acclaim for her constantly evolving modernist style. While she experimented with abstract painting, she is remembered primarily for her magnified depictions of plant life and the outdoors, a theme that preoccupied her for the entirety of her career.
In honour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s enduring legacy, we’ve compiled 10 amazing quotes from the great American modernist.
On being an artist —
“I had it in my head, well, I couldn’t have been 12…that I was going to be a painter.”
On being a woman —
“I feel there is something unexplored about women that only a woman can explore.”
On doing what you want —
“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.”
On being courageous —
“To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage.”
On success —
“You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.”
On being yourself —
“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.”
On developing her style —
“I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.”
On landscapes —
“It was all so far away—there was quiet and an untouched feel to the country and I could work as I pleased.”
On making statements —
“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.”
On flowers —
“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.”
Image: Yousuf Karsh
Originally shared on artnet.com
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