Georgia O’Keeffe Essays -- Historiography

tabun OKeeffe is one of the most famous and controversial painters known to America. According to art critic Lisa Mintz Messinger, She Georgia OKeeffe left behind a rich legacy of American images that were tied to the land. These images and her own pioneering spirit, established an illustrious reputation in America very early on in her cargoner (Messinger 17). OKeeffe is best known for her large paintings of flowers, the New York skyline and scenes from New Mexico. of all time since Georgia OKeeffe began showing her work in 1916, critics have had opposite opinions on what her paintings represented. One of the biggest debates regarding her paintings has been whether or not her paintings were erotic. Some of the biggest critics of her works are Robert Hughes, Lisa Mintz Messinger, Katherine Hoffman and Georgia OKeeffe herself. All four of these people have helped consideration OKeeffe into an iconic figure of sexually charged paintings.Georgia OKeeffe first came into the l ime light after her friend Anita Pollitzer submitted some of OKeeffes works to the famous Alfred Stieglitz (Hoffman 5). Even from these first charcoal drawings, critics sight the eroticism in her works of art. One of the biggest critics of her work is the noted Robert Hughes. In his book, American Visions The Epic invoice of Art in America, Hughes explores American artists works, including OKeeffe. According to Hughes, Much ink has been spilled on the topic of whether OKeeffe forever set out to use specifically genital images she herself indignantly denied it, and oddly refused to countenance any sexual interpretation of the large close-ups of flowers she painted in the twenties. To deny the sexuality of a painting like Black iris diaphragm III, 1926,... ...a Bricker. Review Stieglitz. Stieglitz 55.2 (1996) 105-106. Web. 23 October 2009.Cowart, Jack, et al. Georgia OKeeffe Art and Letters. Washington Boston subject Gallery of Art New York Graphic Society Books, 1987. Pri nt.Hoffman, Katherine, and Georgia OKeeffe. An endure Spirit The Art of Georgia OKeeffe. Metuchen Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1984. Print.Hughes, Robert. American Visions The Epic History of Art in America. 1st ed. New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1997. Print. Messinger, Lisa Mintz, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Georgia OKeeffe. Georgia OKeeffe. New York Thames and Hudson Inc. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. Print.Middleton, Ken.1920s American Women through Time.www.frankmtsu.edu. N.d. Web. 25 Sep. 2009. foot to Modern Art. metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 18 June 2009. Web. 25 Sep. 2009.