Georgia O'Keeffe
Oriental Poppies, 1927
Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 1/8 in.

A close-up view of two bright-orange flowers with black centers fills this painting by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. This is an example of a modern-style painting of simple shapes and bright colors. Many modern artists were more interested in personal expression than making something look realistic. O'Keeffe observed nature in her own way and wanted to make people see flowers through new eyes. She borrowed ideas from photography such as zooming in and cropping images. "I'll paint what I see but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it...even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers."


Georgia O'Keeffe was born on a farm in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, in 1887. As a young girl she loved to explore the fields around her home and look at the wildflowers. She later expressed this deep reverence for nature by painting rural landscapes and large flowers. In 1945 she moved to the American Southwest where she was inspired to paint the stark, rugged country, and the animal bones she collected on desert walks. Georgia O'Keeffe became famous around the world as a modern artist and lived a long, productive life. She died in New Mexico in 1986 at age ninety-eight.