Georgia O'Keeffe

B. Horse's Skull with White Rose (1931)

IV. Considerations of these four works as they indicate forms and themes

The subject of this investigation is the works of Georgia O'Keeffe. We will discuss the use of nature in the works of this artist. There are certain European influences apparent in the works of this artist, and she in turn has had an influence on contemporary painters.

Georgia O'Keeffe was born and raised on a farm in Wisconsin in a family that combined Hungarian and Irish elements. She taught at the University of Virginia and later in another university in Texas. It is from this period that her drawings come (Amon 6). The overall assessment of her art is that it is unique in contemporary America. Her art is individual and expresses personal emotions and perceptions in a style combining strength and crystalline clarity. Her imagery derives from nature, but that nature is interpreted with great freedom. She was a pioneer of native modern art over fifty years ago, and she ha

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the animals featured. In the first, the background is an abstraction in red, whites and blues and in the second the setting is an unreal desert and the blue of the desert sky. Neither of these works illustrates the kind of Cubist devices that were so popular during this same period of time. It is also easy to see the inference that Surrealist tendencies are present, and in a sense they may be, particularly in the second of the two paintings. The American locale of her work is apparent, and the formal elements combine with the subject matter to produce works of unreal beauty. However, there is a strong sense of the real in the depictions of the objects themselves, "Cowl's Skull--Red,, White and Blue" shows its American origins very clearly. The abstraction of the background has the look and the texture of a flags and the colors of the American flag are used to enhance this sensation. Of course, those colors and the form of the flag are abstracted but the intent is clearly to draw forth American sentiment and identifications. During the 1930s and the 1940s, bones found in the desert became a frequent theme for the artist. They were often combined with flower forms to produce a rather mysterious note. In one such work--"H
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2008
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)