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Georgia O’ Keeffe Facts & Worksheets

Georgia O'Keeffe was a prominent American artist later referred to as the “Mother of American modernism.” Her best-known works include paintings of flowers, animal skulls, skyscrapers particularly found in New York City, and landscapes unique to New Mexico.

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Georgia O’Keeffe was a prominent American artist later referred to as the “Mother of American modernism.” Her best-known works include paintings of flowers, animal skulls, skyscrapers particularly found in New York City, and landscapes unique to New Mexico. Her early works mostly include watercolor paintings and charcoal drawings. But it was her abstract art and large-scale paintings of natural objects that became the forefront of her legacy.

See the fact file below for more information on Georgia O’Keefe, or you can download our 28-page George O’Keeffe worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • On November 15, 1887, Georgia O’Keeffe was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
  • Georgia was born the second of seven children to dairy farmers, Francis Calyxtus and Ida (nee Totto) O’Keeffe.
  • From a young age, Georgia had shown an early aptitude for drawing and painting, as recognized by her school teachers.
  • In 1902, her family moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, while she chose to live with her aunt in Wisconsin and attend Madison High School for a year.
  • She was set on becoming a professional artist as soon as she graduated high school.
  • From 1905 to 1906, Georgia attended the Art Institute of Chicago, where she first received art training and ranked as a top student.
  • After contracting typhoid fever, she had to take a year off from school.
  • She subsequently studied in the Art Students League of New York from 1907 to 1908), where she learned the traditional techniques of imitative realism.
  • In 1908, she was awarded a summer scholarship care of the League’s William Merritt Chase still-life prize for her creation of an oil painting called Untitled (Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot).
  • It was during this time when her mother had fallen ill with tuberculosis, and her family was experiencing financial woes.
  • As she couldn’t afford to continue her studies, Georgia took a job in Chicago as a commercial artist.
  • In 1910, she moved back with her family in Virginia. Two years later, she took a summer art course taught by Alon Bement at the University of Virginia.
  • There, she discovered the works of Arthur Wesley Dow, whose revolutionary ideas inspired her to employ a more abstract approach to art.
  • She also took classes at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York from 1914 to 1915.

EARLY CAREER

  • Georgia’s first experiences teaching art were at public schools in Amarillo, Texas, from 1912 to 1914, and as Bement’s assistant for summer courses at the University of Virginia from 1913 to 1916.
  • In the fall of 1915, she taught at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina, where she created a series of abstract charcoal drawings.
  • She mailed the drawings to her friend and former classmate Anita Pollitzer, who then showed them to Alfred Stieglitz.
  • Alfred was so impressed that he exhibited Georgia’s works at his famous art gallery, 291.
  • In the fall of 1916, Georgia moved to Canyon, Texas, where she became the chairperson of the art department at West Texas State Normal College. 
  • In Canyon, she would go on walks that exposed her to beautiful views and scenery, which then inspired a series of watercolor paintings, including “Light Coming on the Plains No. II” (1917).

MARRIAGE TO ALFRED STIEGLITZ

  • In June 1918, Georgia resigned from her teaching position and accepted Alfred Stieglitz’s offer to relocate to New York from Texas.
  • Alfred, who was 24 years Georgia’s senior, supported her painting endeavors and provided her with a studio.
  • Despite Alfred being married, he and Georgia developed feelings for each other and began living together.
  • Alfred obtained a divorce in 1924 and then married Georgia shortly thereafter.
  • Alfred had taken over 350 portraits, most of which were nude, of Georgia by the time of his retirement from photography in 1937.
  • Professionally, Alfred promoted Georgia’s work by organizing yearly exhibitions of her art at the Anderson Galleries (1924 to 1925), the Intimate Gallery (1925 to 1929), and An American Place (1929 to 1946).
  • When not in their New York City home, Alfred and Georgia spent their summers in the former’s family home in Lake George, New York.
  • Georgia also became associated with Alfred Stieglitz’s circle of artist friends, which included early modernist painters, namely Arthur Dove, John Marin, Charles Demuth, and Marsden Hartley, as well as photographers such as Paul Strand and Edward J. Steichen.

FAMOUS PAINTINGS

  • In New York, Georgia was inspired to focus her work on large-scale depictions of flowers and the city’s skyscrapers and aerial views as subjects.
  • By the mid-1920s, she was renowned as one of the most important and successful artists in the United States.
  • Some of her best-known large-format flower paintings are “Red Canna” (1915), “Black Iris” (1926), and “Oriental Poppies” (1928).
  • Her work “City Night” (1926) and “Shelton Hotel, New York No. 1” (1926) represent New York’s views.
  • In 1927, she opened her first retrospective, “Paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe,” at the Brooklyn Museum.

LIFE IN NEW MEXICO

  • In the summer of 1929, Georgia visited New Mexico for the first time and found profound inspiration in the state’s landscape, architecture, local culture, and natural objects like rocks and animal bones.
  • She had spent most of her summers painting in New Mexico for the next two decades.
  • Some of her iconic paintings, such as “Black Cross, New Mexico” (1929), “Cow’s Skull: Red, White and Blue” (1931), and “Ram’s Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills” (1935), were created during this time.
  • Prior to that prolific period, she experienced a nervous breakdown in early 1933 largely because of Alfred Stieglitz’s friendship-turned-affair with a young photographer named Dorothy Norman.
  • Later that year, she recovered in Bermuda and then returned to New Mexico during the fall of 1934.
  • For the following years, Georgia cemented her place beyond New York, both artistically and geographically.
  • In 1940, she bought the house that she had occupied at Ghost Ranch since 1936.
  • In 1945, she bought a property in Abiquiú.
  • In 1946, she became the first female artist to showcase her work in a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
  • In 1949, three years after Alfred’s death, she permanently moved to New Mexico.
  • In the 1940s, she created a series of paintings called the “Black Place,” which she said was “a mile of elephants with gray hills and white sand at their feet.”

TRAVELING AND DETERIORATION

  • In the 1950s, Georgia added more to her travel experiences, including going to Europe, Peru, and Japan, among other places.
  • At 73 years old, she had become focused on painting aerial views of clouds and the sky. 
  • She painted her last unassisted oil painting in 1972 due to deteriorating vision and ill health.

HONORS, AWARDS, AND DEATH

  • Her best-selling illustrated autobiography “Georgia O’Keeffe” was published in 1976.
  • In 1977, she received the Medal of Freedom from President Gerald Ford. Then in 1985, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Ronald Reagan.
  • At the age of 98, Georgia O’Keeffe died in Santa Fe, and her ashes were scattered over the New Mexico landscape.
  • She had produced around 900 paintings and drawings during her lifetime, nearly 150 of which are homed in the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
  • Her personal belongings and related documents and photographs are also included in the museum.

George O’Keeffe Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Georgia O’Keeffe across 28 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Georgia O’Keeffe. Her best-known works include paintings of flowers, animal skulls, skyscrapers particularly found in New York City, and landscapes unique to New Mexico.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Georgia O’Keeffe Facts
  2. About Georgia
  3. Related Vocabulary
  4. O’Keeffe-ing It True
  5. New States, New Art
  6. Life Timeline
  7. Painting Match
  8. Art Appreciation
  9. Poetic Observations
  10. Georgia’s Contemporaries
  11. Floral Art

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Georgia O’Keeffe?

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was an American artist known for her contributions to American modernism. She was renowned for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and landscapes of the American Southwest.

What was Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic style?

Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic style is often associated with precision and abstraction. She is best known for her large-scale paintings of flowers, which often featured close-up views and bold, vibrant colors. O’Keeffe also depicted landscapes, bones, and architectural subjects with a unique and modern sensibility.

What influenced Georgia O’Keeffe’s art?

O’Keeffe drew inspiration from various sources. She was influenced by nature, particularly the landscapes of New Mexico, where she spent much of her life. She also found inspiration in the works of modernist artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Arthur Dove, as well as from her own personal experiences and emotions.

What are some notable artworks by Georgia O’Keeffe?

Some notable artworks by Georgia O’Keeffe include “Black Iris” (1926), “Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue” (1931), “Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. V” (1930), and “Ram’s Head, White Hollyhock-Hills” (1935). These paintings showcase her unique style and subjects.

What is Georgia O’Keeffe’s legacy?

Georgia O’Keeffe’s legacy as an artist is significant. She played a pivotal role in the development of American modernism and contributed to the recognition of women artists. O’Keeffe’s unique vision and talent continue to inspire artists and art enthusiasts, and her artworks are celebrated worldwide.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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