Close Looking: Georgia O’Keeffe
Language
About the Artist
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) is recognized as a leading American artist of the 20th century. She repeatedly drew and painted the natural world over the course of her long career. O’Keeffe lived in New Mexico on and off for more than 40 years. Large-scale abstractions of flowers and images of the desert, such as sun-bleached animal skulls, feature in many of her best-known paintings.
About the Artwork
A dark maroon flower stands upright, nestled among vivid green leaves. Seen up close and filling the canvas, a Jack-in-the-pulpit demands our attention. This flowering plant grows throughout eastern North America.
Georgia O’Keeffe first learned about Jack-in-the-pulpits from her high school art teacher, who encouraged students to examine the plant's distinctive form and color. Many years later, O’Keeffe returned to Jack-in-the-pulpits as a subject for her art. This is one of six paintings she made of the flower. (The National Gallery owns five of them.) Inspired by photography, she zoomed in closer on the flower in each painting. By the end of the series, the center of the flower—an abstracted upright spadix—dominates the canvas.
Classroom activities
Slow Looking
Take a quiet moment to look closely at this painting.
- What do you notice first?
- Let your eyes follow the lines and shapes. Where do they go?
- What colors do you see? How would you describe them?
- How does this painting make you feel? What does it remind you of?
- What do you think this might be a painting of? What makes you say that?
Exploring Interpretation
O’Keeffe was greatly inspired by nature. She painted wildflowers, dried animal bones, and desert rocks in ways that invite us to look closely. Sometimes her images seem realistic, and sometimes they appear abstract or even mysterious.
- Why do you think O’Keeffe painted this flower close up?
- Does the painting look like something you’ve seen before? Does it remind you of anything other than a flower?
- What do you think O’Keeffe wanted people to feel or think about when looking at this painting?
Make Your Own Close-looking Artwork
O’Keeffe showed us that when we look closely at a flower, for example, we can see it in a whole new way. Try making your own artwork inspired by her style.
- Choose something from nature: a flower, shell, rock, fruit, or leaf.
- Look at it carefully. Notice its lines, curves, colors, and shapes.
- Create a drawing, painting, or collage that zooms in on one part. Make it big and bold!
- Use color and shape to show how this object feels when you touch it. What does it remind you of?
