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Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe [Paperback]

Laurie Lisle
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 1, 1997
Georgia O'Keeffe, one of the most original painters America has ever produced, left behind a remarkable legacy when she died at the age of ninety-eight. Her vivid visual vocabulary -- sensuous flowers, bleached bones against red sky and earth -- had a stunning, profound, and lasting influence on American art in this century.

O'Keeffe's personal mystique is as intriguing and enduring as her bold, brilliant canvases. Here is the first full account of her exceptional life -- from her girlhood and early days as a controversial art teacher...to her discovery by the pioneering photographer of the New York avant-garde, Alfred Stieglitz...to her seclusion in the New Mexico desert, where she lived until her death.

And here is the story of a great romance -- between the extraordinary painter and her much older mentor, lover, and husband, Alfred Stieglitz.

Renowned for her fierce independence, iron determination, and unique artistic vision, Georgia O'Keeffe is a twentieth-century legend. Her dazzling career spans virtually the entire history modern art in America.


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Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe + Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Joyce Carol Oates Fascinating...filled with riches...what a personality emerges from these pages!

Chicago Tribune Readers will welcome what Lisle has found. The woman who emerges has extraordinary personal stature, artistic gifts, commitment to her vision.

San Francisco Chronicle An excellent portrait of a nearly legendary figure.

Patricia Bosworth Portrait of an Artist moved me deeply -- I can't remember when a book involved me so totally.

Christian Science Monitor This O'Keeffe will shock as much as amuse, chill as much as inspire.

Eleanor Munro author of Originals: American Woman Artists Laurie Lisle has given us a mortal Georgia O'Keeffe, whose human hunger and frailties, gifts and strengths enabled her to survive -- triumphantly -- a conflicted life.

About the Author

In addition to Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, Laurie Lisle is the author of two books: Without Child: Challenging the Stigma of Childlessness and Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life. She lectures widely on O'Keeffe and writes essays, articles and book reviews for various publications. Lisle lives with her husband in northwestern Connecticut and Westchester County, New York.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Washington Square Press; Rev Upd Su edition (October 1, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671016660
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671016661
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.1 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurie Lisle was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, where she returned after college to work for the local newspaper. She moved to New York City in the late 1960s and went to work for Newsweek magazine.
In the late 1970s she began writing her first book, the best-selling Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, which was published in 1980. Her second biography is titled Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life.
She then began to write more personally, publishing Without Child: Challenging the Stigma of Childlessness and then Four Tenths of an Acre: Reflections on a Gardening Life. Her fifth book was a history of her high school, Westover: Giving Girls a Place of Their Own. The author is now working on a memoir.
She lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut and in Westchester County, New York. She is married to artist Robert Kipniss.
See www.laurielisle.com for more information

Customer Reviews

I think any artist would enjoy reading this very delightful book. Ann Thompson  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Portrait That the Artist Would Have Enjoyed August 30, 2007
Format:Paperback
When author Laurie Lisle advised the artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, that hers was a story Lisle "wanted to tell," O'Keeffe, as was her wont, elected not to participate but told Lisle, "you are welcome to what you find." ("Forward and Acknowledgments.") Lisle, equipped with a passion for her subject and steadfastness of purpose - qualities similar to those governing O'Keeffe's own work and life - pored through museum bulletins and exhibition catalogue notes, magazine and newspaper articles, memoirs about O'Keeffe's artistic peers (including her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz), and O'Keeffe's letters preserved in Yale's Beinecke Rare Book Library. She spoke with O'Keeffe's schoolmates, in-laws, and friends. And, of course, she viewed O'Keeffe's creations.

There is not one spot of color in this book except for the auburn and gold lettering on the jacket of my paperback. The sixteen pages of photographs in the book, only four of which show O'Keeffe posing with her art, are black-and-white. One imagines, had the artist participated in this project and accepted that a literary work, with an artist as its subject, could be as beautiful and fascinating as the flowers, skulls, rivers, and stones she captured in her own paintings, O'Keeffe would have appreciated the lack of color. For much of her life, O'Keeffe's signature garb was black with a touch of white, due to a belief that admirers ought to focus on the art, not the artist.

While reading this book, one obviously is tempted to take occasional breaks from Lisle's gorgeously plain, non-effusive prose to google O'Keeffe's paintings.
... Read more ›
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Portait of an artist - in living color May 27, 2008
Format:Paperback
Portrait of an Artist is just that - a portrait of a powerful, unique artist. Refreshingly, for those of us who have an interest in art and some knowledge but are not familiar with technicalities, the book is very direct and honest. One comes away with the feeling they have met and experienced a fascinating woman - one who is not always pleasant and kind, but one who is always open and honest. Her art is used as a lens into her deepest feelings, although the only representations of her art are in photographs where she is posing in front of one of her paintings. Her devotion to her art was inspiring, although it seemed to overwhelm everything and everyone that surrounded her. I walk away from this book very glad to have met and experienced Georgia O'Keeffe, but also glad to have experienced her from a distance and not had to endure her intensity personally. This is a great compliment for a fascinating book.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Georgia O'keeffe is a true American treasure May 3, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Having just seen the Georgia Okeeffe exibition at the Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC, I had to run out and buy a biography to learn more about this incredible artist. This book gives deep personal insight to Ms O'keeffe's life and work.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Our reading group all picked a different biography and we discussed our choices at our last meeting. Portrait of An Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe was my pick. This was an interesting and easy read that often revealed O'Keeffe's multi- faceted personality and artistic nature and work. I found the black and white photos of O'Keeffe, many of which were taken by her mentor and husband Stieglitz, often as revealing as Laurie Lisle's words. The bio reveals the artist from birth in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, in 1887 to her death in Taos, New Mexico in 1986.

It's not a perfect portrait as the author seems to impose her own opinions/guesses on why the artist reacted or thought certain things. But it was a good overview of her career and life. O'Keeffe valued privacy and freedom in her life. She was an accepted and successful artist at a time when many felt only men could be accomplished artists. Lisle's biography hightlights the fact that O'Keeffe wasn't a perfect person but that what mattered to her most was her art. I wish some of O'Keeffe's paintings had been included in the bio since the artist herself said that her life wasn't the important thing. It was her art that mattered.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! July 19, 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Lisle writes not only a biography but a rivoting story of the most talented American artist of her time. I dont know which i enjoyed more, the writing or the life in which she wrote about. I'm so glad she paid hommage to this important artist by writing this.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Women! September 1, 2009
Format:Paperback
I didn't know much about this artist, but enjoyed learning about her in this biography.
She definitely became a treasured roll model to me.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A good biography of a wonderful artist. June 12, 2013
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are many facts about Georgia O'Keefe in this book, many that may not have been seen in print before this editon.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Happy I found it. June 10, 2013
By Lyrical
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I owned this book when it was first published in the 80's. I did what many book owners do, I loaned it to a friend who moved and took it with her. I have several biographies of Georgia O'Keeffe and always considered this one the best. I was so happy to find it on Amazon and return it to my collection.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing
This book was part of an adult education course and both were disappointing. I found the book flat and pedestrian. I read very little of it.
Published 1 month ago by avidreader
4.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to a knotty subject
I've been educating myself on female artists, and this is the best artist biography I've read yet. (Disappointments were those of Lee Krasner, Diane Arbus, and Frida Kahlo. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jill Monterey
2.0 out of 5 stars Print quality ruins appreciation of book's content.
The writing is terrific! BUT the paperbook edition is of such poor quality-- the printing but especially the photographs-- that I think the book should be withdrawn from... Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. K. Green
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book/Lousy Recording
I really like the book, but I get frustrated because the audio tapes skip and I lose words. It is great that my car still plays tapes but not great that this book is no longer... Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Guinn
5.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of an Artist
Really enjoyed this book . Learned a lot about O'Keeffe that I had never heard about. Truly captured her personality.
Published 4 months ago by Marybeth Jaggard
5.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe
Everything was properly done. I think any artist would enjoy reading this very delightful book. Good author. She brings the artist to life.
Published 5 months ago by Ann Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't Want This Book to End!
I was born and raised in New Mexico and now live and work in Switzerland. I wanted a biography to read on the plane ride home this summer and this book came up right away as a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Cooking Quilter
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
This was a gift which I am truly enjoying. The writing flows easily and I particularly like the occasional inclusion of O'Keefe's own words to illustrate a point.
Published 15 months ago by lynn300
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
This is a book with good information on Georgia and her life. It covers both Triumph and Tribulations.
I would recommend to any fan of hers.
Published on September 26, 2010 by J. M. Biles
5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent portrait
If you enjoy O'Keeffe's paintings this is a book well worth reading. It is both surprising and illuminating to see the amazing woman behind such breathtaking beauty. Read more
Published on September 2, 2010 by Maggie Hasbrouck
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