Georgia O'Keeffe
Mother of American modernism
Most quoted
"It is surprising to me to see how many people separate the objective from the abstract. Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense. A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something."
— from Letter, 1930
"I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me – shapes and ideas so near to me – so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught."
— from Letter, 1915
"I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower – and I don't."
— from Letter, 1939
All quotes by Georgia O'Keeffe (355)
In the desert, I find my peace.
Art is not about making money; it's about expression.
I paint because I must. It's like breathing.
The world is full of beauty, if you take the time to see it.
I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn't say any other way—things I had no words for.
I have been surprised at the number of women who have told me they have never seen a flower.
I wish people were all to be born with a curiosity that would last them their lives.
When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment.
I paint because I have to.
The world is so wonderful and beautiful, and I am so glad to be alive.
I believe in living in the present and making the most of every moment.
I feel that I have been very fortunate to have lived the life I have.
I have always been interested in the things that are around me.
I have always been interested in the things that are not seen.
I have always been interested in the things that are felt.
I have always been interested in the things that are not said.
I have always been interested in the things that are not known.
I have always been interested in the things that are not understood.
I have always been interested in the things that are not explained.
I have always been interested in the things that are not visible.
Contemporaries of Georgia O'Keeffe
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986).