Georgia O'Keefe: Abstraction at the Whitney

Fall into abstraction this fall at The Whitney Museum of American Art. From now until January 17, 2010, the Whitney presents the first exhibition that focuses solely on Georgia O'Keeffe's (1887-1986) accomplishments as an abstract artist. More than 125 of O'Keefe's drawings, paintings, sculptures and watercolors, are laid out chronologically, so visitors can experience the progression of O'Keefe's evolving vision as they walk through the gallery.

His first abstract works are a series of charcoal drawings she did in 1915. She included color into her palate and then expanded in 1918 into using colored paint. In 1923, she summarized that she strove to "make the unknown-known. By unknown I mean the thing that means so much to the person that he wants to put it down-clarify something he feels but does not clearly understand."

While many think of O"Keefe as a painter who emphasized the sexuality in her feminine subjects, she should be seen also as a painter of places and objects. Among the objects she depicted in her art include, Lake George, New Mexico, Manhattan skyscrapers, as well as still lifes of animal bones, fruit, blooming flowers, shells, leaves, and rocks.

Even when O'Keefe began drawing more realistic pieces, she continued to draw abstract works. Moving between abstract and representative forms of art, O'Keefe stated in 1976, "The abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can only clarify in paint."

Also featured in this collection of works are selected sensual portraits of O'Keefe taken by photographer and gallerist Alfred Stiegltiz. The public revelation of the relationship between the 34 year old artist and the 57 married photographer transformed O'Keefe into a "newspaper personality."

Thos who want to delve deeper into O'Keefe's life and vision can purchase the accompanying catalogue. Besides documenting the thread of abstraction that ran throughout her work, this book also selected excerpts of letters that O'Keefe penned to Steiglitz, who became her husband in 1924. This material has never been made available to the public before.

Also, a free audio guide accompanies this exhibit that includes archival footage from O'Keefe talking about some of her works including the Jack in the Pulpit series and Sky Above Clouds III.

The Whitney Museum of American art is located at 945 Madison Avenue (75th Street) in Manhattan. The museum is open Wednesdays, Thursday, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 6pm and then on Fridays from 1pm to 9pm. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Admission is $18.00 for general admission with those aged 19-25, 62 and over and full-time students paying $12.00. Members and those under 18 are admitted for free. Budget conscious museum goers can visit the museum on Fridays from 6pm to 9pm when the museum offers pay-what-you-wish admission).

For more information, log on the Whitney Museum of American Art's website at http://www.whitney.org.