Charcoal drawings by Georgia O'Keeffe from 1915 represents

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

's first major exploration of abstract art and attainment of a freedom to explore her artistic talents based upon what she felt and envisioned. O'Keeffe developed radical charcoal drawings, with just a few lines, that led to greater development of total abstraction. This series of works was completed following three summers of instruction at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Arthur Wesley Dow Arthur Wesley Dow (April 6, 1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator. Early life Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 188 ...

's design philosophies, which were highly influential in her development as an abstract artist. Early the following year, photographer and art dealer,

Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (; January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was k ...

exhibited some of the drawings at his ''

291 __NOTOC__ Year 291 ( CCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberianus and Dio (or, less frequently, year 1044 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

'' art gallery.

Background

While teaching at Columbia College in South Carolina, O'Keeffe completed a series of highly innovative charcoal abstractions in 1915, which were unique in their form. Other earlier creators of abstract art used

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

shapes, but she used the rhythms and shapes that she found in nature to conceptualize her subconscious feelings, which she called the "unknown", to dictate her compositions.

Overview

''Drawing XIII'' is an example of how O'Keeffe began to develop her own sense of design and composition. A rising flame or flowing river are suggested by the curved line on the right side of the drawing. On the left is a jagged line that seems to represent a lightning strike or mountains. In between the two are four rounded images that appear to be trees or a rolling hillside.

Exhibit

O'Keeffe mailed the drawings to friend and former classmate,

Anita Pollitzer Anita Lily Pollitzer (October 31, 1894 – July 3, 1975) was an American photographer and suffragist. Early life and education Anita Lily Pollitzer was born October 31, 1894, in Charleston, South Carolina. Her parents were Clara Guinzburg Polli ...

, who took them to

at his ''

'' gallery early in 1916. Stieglitz found them to be the "purest, finest, sincerest things that had entered ''291'' in a long while", and in April, Stieglitz exhibited ten of her drawings at ''291''. O'Keeffe was surprised that Stieglitz had not communicated when her work would be shown. She confronted him, but agreed to let exhibit continue.

Gallery

File:Georgia O'Keefe No. 5 Special 1915 NGA.tif, Georgia O'Keeffe, ''No. 5 Special'', 1915, National Gallery of Art File:Georgia O'Keeffe, No. 7 Special 1915 NGA.tif, Georgia O'Keeffe, ''No. 7 Special'', 1915, National Gallery of Art File:Georgia O'Keeffe No. 12-Special 1915 NGA.tif, Georgia O'Keeffe, ''No. 12 Special'', 1915, National Gallery of Art File:Georgia O'Keeffe No. 20-From Music-Special 1915 NGA.tif, Georgia O'Keeffe, ''No. 20 From Music Special'', 1915, National Gallery of Art

References

{{Georgia O'Keeffe 1915 works

O'Keeffe O'Keeffe () is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork, particularly around Fermoy and Duhallow. The name comes from ''caomh'', meaning "kind", "gentle", "noble" Some reformed spellings present it as ''Ó Cu� ...

Georgia O'Keeffe Abstract art Collection of the National Gallery of Art Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Whitney Museum of American Art