Customer Reviews

The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

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If you've been an O'keeffe fan for a long time this book will lack of new and interesting facts about her life and art. It is a "good" book, but it works only for people that have just discovered O'keeffe's greatness.

Who is Georgia O'Keeffe? Why did she paint those flowers so HUGE? Why did she paint things of the desert? What kind of relationships did she have? Why is New Mexico so important?

Ask no longer. The answers to all those questions and so much more are found right here in "The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe" just as the title indicates. I love this book! I have poured and poured through it, reading excerpts of her life, about her art. Even the controversies are here. Wouldn't you know that stories and explanations of such an icon of both art and a bold way to live one's life would be here. What a woman! What an artisan!

But such a life and resulting art were not without pain. She and Alfred Stieglitz (her husband and famous photographer) had a controversial relationship (especially for the time period). They practically ripped their clothes off at their first meeting. He had to have this woman (they eventually married after his divorce), but artist that he was, he also had to have other women. His unfaithfulness was the one thing that could unravel this strong woman. But, oh my! She, too, was unfaithful, especially after moving to New Mexico, the home of her heart.

During the time I taught art history at the high school level, I used this book for information about Georgia O'Keeffe. Everything I needed was here, including fascinating personal stories from childhood to the productive and relatively peaceful (not boring!) years in New Mexico. How her art developed from the usual realistic views of nature and places to the very personal O'Keeffe viewpoint are here. Stieglitz was an essential catalyst. Her relationships with both friends and fellow artists are illuminated.

If there is a better book about O'Keeffe, I hope I discover it. As for me and now, "The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe" is highly recommended for its personal stories, explanations of her art, and evaluations of both.

Surely it is difficult to sift through an artist's life and write about only the meaningful moments/events. Castro does a good job with this, including what is important and omitting the tedious. Her art criticism is simple and easy to understand and her approach seems balanced. My major complaint with the book is that while she may discuss a painting on page 15, it may well appear on page 200 - with no note or appendix making it possible to find the plate.

This book is insperational with amazing insights in her art work and lifestyle. if you want to find out about this amazing woman and her art work you should buy this book!

Having always been familiar with her work, this book provided me with a good synopsis of her life and her art. The book has a good layout, and a "tasty" palette of her art and color to feed on.

SUMMARY: Georgia O'Keeffe's life, and quite a number of her paintings, are presented here in this fairly large paperback book, along with some of the people and subjects that shaped this great contemporary artist.
POSITIVES: One of the best compilations of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork that I've seen for awhile, it not only shows her, her life events, and the work she created, but the people who influenced her. You are brought along a journey through O'Keeffe's life, and also what can be gathered through her paintings that reflected her own inner qualities. Best of all in this book, are the countless artistic pieces that she has produced, some photographs by Stieglitz, and other important information that is very valuable in any contemporary art collection.
NEGATIVES: However, the author, despite her intense research and beautiful compilations, does not appear to have put much effort into coordinating her pictures and the explanations that go with them. The organizational aspects of this book are definitely not its best quality, dropping my opinion when it comes to giving it a fair review. I also think you can do better when it comes to finding a book with a comprehensive review of O'Keeffe's life and work.
AGE RANGE: 10 and up for comprehension, but much older for enjoyment. (It could be quite boring)

Happy Reading!