Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe Book

This is one of the two biographies recommended to docents at the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe--the less technical one, according to the gift shop assistant who helped me select one. I chose "less technical" because I wanted a fast read--and it was, because Georgia O'Keeffe was such an interesting person.

I deducted one star because the writing style is not exceptional. The writer was too much in the way, creating the feeling of being told only what the writer found out. Of course, one wants the truth, but somehow this seemed taped together.

Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about O'Keeffe and learning more about her. Reading most of it while I was in the impressive landscape of Santa Fe itself made O'Keeffe feel more "present." I took a day trip to Taos, a place O'Keeffe said she would not live because it was too arty!

Much has been said about O'Keeffe's brusque personality, and this book, too, presents more of that than any softer side or even romance. I was under the impression O'Keeffe had lovers besides Steiglitz, at least after his death, and perhaps shortly after she moved to New Mexico. This volume says nothing about that, so I don't know more than the vague impressions I've gathered over the years.

Regarding her apparent harshness, I suspect some of it was her mischievous sense of humor misunderstood or misinterpreted by those around her. In school, she was quite the life of the party; though, she was careful not to get caught purveying trouble. It's possible that in mid- and later-life, she was still not "caught" being mischievous with a remark, such as when someone appeared at her gate asking to see her and O'Keeffe said, "Front side," then turned and said "Back side. Good-bye." She did not suffer fools gladly. (Perhaps a more specific request would have garnered a different answer.)

Most important to O'Keeffe was painting and Portrait of an Artist treats her style and development thoroughly. She was aware her success created expectations that each year's show would surpass the last. Usually that happened through her normal process of pushing herself to her limits, but in later years it added stress.

Like great comedians or musicians, she became an "overnight success" by honing her craft and getting better at it day after day, year after year. Without seeing her paintings chronologically, what exactly she did to improve escapes me, but such changes are mentioned in this tome.

I've wondered about motifs I've seen in paintings, repeated elements or entire scenes. O'Keeffe explained that for herself, she painted a thing over and over, e.g. the door in her courtyard, trying to get it "right."

She embraced feminism early, but later distanced herself from it because she did not want to be a "woman painter." She wanted to be a "painter," period, and that was the strongest thing she could do for the cause; although, helping the cause was not her intent.

If you want to do something great with your life, be inspired by this person who at age 10 decided to be an artist, and with few breaks worked at that every day of her life. She studied. She focused. She thought. She considered. She painted. Over and over again. Till she got it right.