Georgia O'Keeffe

Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (1887 - 1986) was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She demonstrated an aptitude for art at a young age and went on to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the New York's Art Student League.

In 1912, Georgia took a teaching job at the Chatham Episcopal Institute. A year later, she applied for and was hired for a teaching position as a drawing supervisor in Texas. But after years of teaching and having almost no time for herself, she decided it was time to devote herself to producing art.

Some of her early drawings were shown by the photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, in his New York gallery. In 1923 O'Keeffe married Stieglitz and began to paint the large, magnified views of flowers for which she is most famous.

O'Keeffe lived and worked in New Mexico for many years where she found inspiration in the dry bones and geology of the desert landscapes.

Late elementary students that are studying American history will be interested in the work of Georgia O'Keeffe.

Project idea: Look at photographs of flowers in magazines and calendars. Choose one and lightly sketch it on watercolor paper. Enlarge the flower so that it fills the entire page and goes off the edges. Use watercolor paint to add color. Add definition and shading to the flower with watercolor pencils.

source for biographical information: http://www.georgia-okeeffe.com/biography.html