Georgia O'Keeffe
Alfred Stieglitz & Georgia O’Keeffe: A Partnership that Clicked!
There are many famous partnerships in the history of arts and entertainment: Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgewick, Romeo and Juliet, Simon and Garfunkel, and photographer Alfred Stieglitz and artist Georgia O’Keeffe, a dynamic duo that affected the art world in a profound manner.
A Creative Couple
Alfred Stieglitz was an American-born photographer
who is credited with elevating the art of photography
to the level of the more traditional and eloquent
art forms, such as painting and sculpture. In
1924, Stieglitz married Georgia O’Keeffe,
famous for her large-scale paintings of flowers.
Stieglitz was O’Keefe’s biggest
supporter; he not only endeavoured to sell her
works and arrange shows, but he also put every
buyer under a microscope in order to determine
whether or not they were worthy of owning a
genuine O’Keeffe painting. Although their
marriage was at times rocky due to the often
ill Stieglitz who suffered from a heart condition
and hypochondria, they enjoyed a relatively
happy marriage.
Photography
Alfred started photographing Georgia in 1916. When his former wife Emmeline
came home one day and found Georgia posing for him, she threw them both
out. He started living with Georgia soon thereafter, and in his lifetime
would take over 300 photographs of her. Both the collective photographs
of O’Keeffe and the nude photographs he took of heiress Dorothy
Norman are considered among the first works of art that demonstrate the
artistic potential in isolated parts of the human body.
Georgia’s artwork reflects the inspiration she drew from Stieglitz. She became ensconced in his circle of friends that included many American modernists, such as Charles DeMuth, Paul Strand, and Edward Steichen. Stieglitz used to frequently take Georgia to his family’s homestead at Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains, and many of her landscape paintings were created during those visits.
The Stieglitz Collection
Alfred Stieglitz’s most famous achievement consists of 101 works
of art entitled The Stieglitz Collection, a compilation that features
19 his photographs, 2 works by O’Keeffe, 5 pieces of African tribal
art, prints by Renoir and Cezanne, as well as paintings by Arthur Dove,
Marsden Hartley, Charles DeMuth, and John Marin. It would appear that
Alfred Stieglitz played the role of artist, advocate, and collector; not
only did he create this masterpiece, but he also amassed and showcased
great works by his peers.
Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe
This unique partnership helped shape the art
world in a significant way. Georgia’s
works were made famous in Stieglitz’s
gallery 291 in 1916 and 1917. Together they
forged one of the greatest partnerships in American
art history.