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OBJECTIVES:
The students will examine Georgia O’Keeffe’s use of differing color values, and they will study the balance and movement that are characteristic of her paintings. Each student will use watercolors to paint a “larger than life” flower.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Georgia O’Keeffe spent much of her long life engaged in the study or practice of art. Born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, in 1887, O’Keeffe studied at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1905-1906, and at the New York Art Students’ League the following year. After working as a commercial illustrator, she returned to her painting and studies at the University of Virginia in 1912. At Columbia University in 1914, her instructor Arthur Dove had an important influence on her. O’Keeffe was encouraged to approach art subjectively and develop a personal vocabulary of artistic expression. During the 1910’s, O’Keeffe taught art in Virginia, South Carolina, and Texas. Here she was first exposed to the western landscape that would shape much of her later work.
O’Keeffe was an integral part of the circle of New York artists which revolved around photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz. In his 291 Gallery, later called the Intimate Gallery, and then An American Place, Stieglitz exhibited the work of modernist painters John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and Charles Demuth, as well as O’Keeffe. She had her first solo exhibition at 291 Gallery in 1917 and moved to New York in 1918. O’Keeffe and Stieglitz were married in 1924.
Unlike most of her contemporaries, O’Keeffe did not travel to Europe and maintained a personal style that was largely free of European influence. She credited the book On the Spiritual in Art by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky as influencing her pursuit of the intuitive and spiritual in her work. O’Keeffe’s keen perception of and reverence for nature guided her choice of subjects.
In the 1920’s the subject of O’Keeffe’s paintings were luminous, empty spaces based on landscapes alternating with more representational motifs, especially flowers. The curvilinear patterns of art Nouveau designs as well as the abstracted plant forms of Arthur Dove influenced her treatment of flowers. O’Keeffe’s interest in the close-up view was shared by contemporary photographers, including Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Imogen Cunningham, and Paul Strand.
Black Iris is one of O’Keeffe’s flower paintings, executed in 1926. For O’Keeffe, a canvas filled with a single flower compelled urban viewers to observe nature closely, as she had done. More importantly, flowers depicted
Fifth Grade Print
Black Iris ( 1926 )
By Georgia O’Keeffe
Technique: oil on canvas
Size: 36” x 29 7/8”
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Art Genre: Modernist natural abstraction
in a large scale provided a point of departure for her exploration of colors and abstracted natural forms. In Black Iris , undulating, sensuous shapes suggest the cycle of organic growth and regeneration. Within a symmetrical composition, the structure of the flower is defined by gradation of tone.
After the death of Stieglitz in 1946, O’Keeffe moved to New Mexico. She continued to paint from nature, exploring the imagery of the desert landscape, until her vision failed in the 1970’s. O’Keeffe lived an active but reclusive life and died in 1986.
- Biographical text from: Briere, M. (1988). Art image grade four. Champlain, NY: Art Image Publications, Inc.
*Note that there is a Venezia Series biographical book on Georgia O’Keeffe. You may check it out from the library for use during your lesson. The book should NOT leave the Tarwater campus. You can use the book as a read aloud, but most likely you will only have enough time to use selected pages to enhance your lesson. Please preview the book and skip any images that are inappropriate for classroom use.
QUESTIONS AND POINTS FOR DISCUSSION: Subject Matter What do you see in this painting? (Larger than life close-up of a flower, an Iris) O’Keeffe painted forms from nature and drew attention to the simple, organic things in her environment. Her work is considered to be very original. The size and view of the flower create a more abstract form. How would you describe the Iris? (Soft, flowing, rolling, wavy, in motion)
Elements of Art What do you notice about the color in this painting? (neutral colors of black, white, & grey; gradation of tone ; differing values ) O’Keeffe always used high quality paint so she would have bright and clear colors in her paintings.
Principles of Design Is this painting symmetrical? (It is not exactly symmetrical, but it has a balanced composition.) What gives the Iris a feeling of movement?
Evaluation How does this painting make you feel? Do you like this painting? Why or why not?
PROJECT: Each student will paint a “larger than life” flower, using watercolor paint. It is always a good idea to make a sample and show it to the students when explaining the project. Pass out “zoomed-in” flower photos to use as models. First, each student should make a light pencil outline of his/her flower. The flower should be large and fill the entire space of the paper. Demonstrate how one color of watercolor paint can be applied as the main color of a petal, and while it is still wet, another color can be thinly streaked over the base or edges of the petal to add depth and definition. Warn the students not to overdo this “wet on wet” painting, or the color separation and pretty “bleeding” effect will be lost in a puddle. The students should allow 4-5 minutes of drying time before painting any more details in the center of the flower or before painting a new color in the background next to the outside edges of the petals. When painting details, the students should use less water on their brushes. Let the students know that the amount of water on the brush will determine the brightness of color. Differing levels of brightness will create more depth, definition, and interest in the flower painting. The students should have no white space left on their papers when they are finished. Have the students sign the artwork when it is dry. The artwork may be displayed or saved in the students’ portfolios.
