"A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth." -- John Singer Sargent

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Georgia O'Keeffe


This caricature of Georgia O'Keeffe by Peggy Bacon from her 1934 book Off With Their Heads! is on display in the library of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in Washington, DC.
“Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American artist. She was best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been recognized as the ‘Mother of American modernism.’” – Wikipedia
The book includes this small cartoon and a brief description of Georgia O'Keefe.


Georgia O'Keeffe
 “Stern ancestral face full of irregularities, all definite. Pale with polished black hair brushed uncompromisingly back from climbing forehead. Sharp cheek-bones, hoisted eye­brows and a long wavy nose. Structure of face bony and melancholy, enlivened by keen fan-shaped eyes and a crooked smile, generous and friendly. Delicate frame in deep black, betimes with a tragic looking cape. Personality stripped and whittled. Conspicuous as a nun. Distinguished and restricted as Electra.” – Peggy Bacon.
Bacon wrote this note to her mother about the reception of her book, also on display in the NMWA library:

“The New Yorker gave me a very fine write-up which is supposed to be a great boost - In fact it looks as though the book would at least spread my reputation considerably and lead to other things.” – Peggy Bacon
 “- Alex” at the end of this excerpt is not a signature but a reference to her husband Alexander Brook.

Photographer Alfred Stieglitz took this more flattering photo of his wife Georgia O'Keeffe entitled Hands in 1918.


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