Georgia O’Keeffe’s name is often synonymous with the vast landscapes of the American Southwest—sweeping desert vistas, vibrant flowers rendered in extraordinary scale, and abstract interpretations of nature. Her depictions of New Mexico’s arid terrains and sensuous flowers have cemented her as a titan of American modernism. Yet, there is another side to O’Keeffe’s oeuvre that is less frequently explored: her fascination with New York City. These paintings, which include skyscrapers, bustling avenues, and industrial forms, reveal O’Keeffe as an astute chronicler of the metropolis, interpreting its dynamism and elegance in a way that was profoundly personal and ahead of its time. For the first time, these cityscapes are being intentionally celebrated in their own right in a groundbreaking exhibition that recently opened in Chicago, allowing audiences to witness a facet of O’Keeffe’s work that feels at once intimate and monumental.

O’Keeffe’s Urban Years

O’Keeffe’s New York years are often seen as an artistic interlude between her early abstractions and her subsequent retreat to New Mexico. The current exhibition seeks to reframe this narrative, positing her cityscapes not as transitional works, but as a body of art fully deserving of independent recognition. From 1918 to 1932, O’Keeffe lived and worked in New York City, a period that coincided with her marriage to the influential photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, who was instrumental in championing her career. It was during this period that O’Keeffe produced a series of works that capture the city’s monumental energy.

The exhibition highlights the complexities of O’Keeffe’s relationship with New York, exploring how she negotiated her artistic identity amid the urban environment. It’s a chance to appreciate her nuanced interpretation of the city’s architecture, light, and movement, as well as her ability to distill the essence of a place that is often defined by its frenetic pace and cacophony. These paintings present New York not as a chaotic space but as a landscape of geometric harmony and stylized beauty—a vision that is both distinctly O’Keeffe and refreshingly modern.

Interpreting the City Through O’Keeffe’s Eyes

O’Keeffe’s New York paintings reflect her modernist sensibilities, merging abstraction with realism to create a uniquely personal interpretation of the urban landscape. She eschewed the smoky grays and browns typical of early 20th-century depictions of the city in favor of vibrant hues and bold lines. Her canvases are imbued with a sense of clarity and focus that transforms skyscrapers into luminous columns and reduces crowded intersections into carefully orchestrated compositions.

One of the key pieces in the exhibition is “Radiator Building—Night, New York” (1927), a masterpiece that epitomizes O’Keeffe’s approach to the urban form. In this work, the glowing facade of the Radiator Building, illuminated against a deep blue sky, looms large, while a crimson-red building stands in stark contrast in the foreground. The painting captures the interplay of light and shadow in a manner that suggests movement and energy, yet it also exudes a quiet, almost meditative quality. It’s a view of New York that is simultaneously grand and introspective, reflecting O’Keeffe’s ability to find solitude amidst the chaos of the metropolis.

Another standout work is “New York Street with Moon” (1925), where O’Keeffe’s controlled use of line and color transforms a simple street scene into a poetic vision. The darkened street, framed by tall buildings and lit by a single, almost ethereal moon, exudes a surreal stillness that invites the viewer to look closer, to see the city not just as a backdrop for human activity but as a subject worthy of reverence in its own right. This work exemplifies O’Keeffe’s approach to New York: a place of unexpected beauty and tranquility, far removed from the hustle and bustle typically associated with the city.

O’Keeffe’s Experimentation with Form

The exhibition also showcases O’Keeffe’s experiments with abstraction during her New York years, challenging the perception that her urban paintings were strictly representational. Works like “East River from the Shelton” (1928) reveal a fascination with geometric forms and the interplay of shapes and colors that verge on the abstract. In this piece, the river is reduced to a series of overlapping planes, while the buildings and bridges are distilled into stark, almost minimalist shapes. It’s a composition that speaks to O’Keeffe’s desire to convey the essence of the city without being constrained by literal representation.

Such works position O’Keeffe as a pioneer of American abstraction, one who was unafraid to blur the boundaries between realism and abstraction. Her ability to distill a scene to its core elements while retaining its emotional impact is a hallmark of her style, and it’s on full display in these urban abstractions. The exhibition’s curatorial approach—placing these pieces alongside her more traditional cityscapes—encourages viewers to see the continuum in her work and appreciate the depth of her exploration of form and color.

Love, Disillusionment, and Departure

While O’Keeffe’s New York paintings are undeniably striking, they also hint at her complex relationship with the city. Her early works, characterized by a sense of wonder and admiration, gradually give way to a more detached, almost critical perspective. This shift can be seen in paintings like “Shelton Hotel, New York No. 1” (1926), where the looming skyscraper, rendered in stark black and white, dominates the composition, its rigid geometry suggesting a coldness and impersonality that stands in contrast to the warmth of her earlier works.

O’Keeffe’s changing relationship with New York is often attributed to her evolving personal and professional dynamics. As her marriage to Stieglitz grew strained and her desire for artistic independence intensified, she began to view the city as a place of confinement rather than inspiration. The towering skyscrapers that once symbolized modernity and progress came to represent barriers to freedom and creativity. It’s no coincidence that her departure from New York in 1932 marked the end of her urban explorations and the beginning of her immersion in the natural landscapes of New Mexico.

Revisiting O’Keeffe’s Legacy

The significance of this exhibition lies in its ability to reposition O’Keeffe’s New York works within the broader context of her career. By focusing exclusively on her cityscapes, the show challenges the conventional narrative that her time in New York was merely a prelude to her artistic peak in the Southwest. Instead, it presents these paintings as vital expressions of O’Keeffe’s evolving vision, reflecting her engagement with modernist ideas and her response to the rapid transformation of the American landscape.

Moreover, the exhibition provides an opportunity to reexamine O’Keeffe’s place in the canon of American art. While her Southwestern landscapes have long been celebrated for their contribution to the genre of American regionalism, her New York paintings demonstrate that she was equally adept at capturing the spirit of the modern metropolis. These works reveal an artist who was deeply attuned to the visual rhythms of the city and unafraid to experiment with style and subject matter.

O’Keeffe’s New York paintings can also be seen as part of a broader cultural dialogue about the role of the city in early 20th-century American art. During this period, artists like Edward Hopper, Charles Sheeler, and Joseph Stella were grappling with the same subject matter, each bringing their own perspective to the depiction of the modern metropolis. While Hopper’s cityscapes are often characterized by a sense of isolation and melancholy, and Sheeler’s by a precise, almost clinical detachment, O’Keeffe’s urban works occupy a unique space. They celebrate the beauty of the city’s architectural forms while acknowledging its capacity to overwhelm.

In this sense, O’Keeffe’s New York paintings can be seen as a bridge between the romanticism of the 19th century and the stark realism of mid-20th-century American art. They are at once lyrical and analytical, capturing the contradictions inherent in the modern city: its ability to inspire awe and alienation, excitement and disillusionment.

O’Keeffe’s New York for a Contemporary Audience

The current exhibition arrives at a moment when interest in O’Keeffe’s work is reaching new heights. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in her life and art, fueled in part by high-profile retrospectives and scholarly reevaluations. This renewed attention has prompted a more nuanced understanding of her legacy, one that recognizes the diversity of her artistic output and the complexity of her vision.

For contemporary audiences, O’Keeffe’s New York paintings offer a fresh perspective on a city that remains a powerful symbol of modernity and change. At a time when urban landscapes are once again being transformed by rapid development and technological advances, O’Keeffe’s paintings remind us of the timelessness of the city’s allure and the enduring power of art to capture its essence.

The Chicago exhibition is more than just a celebration of O’Keeffe’s New York works—it’s a reclamation of a crucial aspect of her legacy. By giving these paintings the attention they deserve, the show challenges us to see O’Keeffe not just as a painter of flowers and deserts, but as a visionary chronicler of the modern city. Her New York paintings reveal an artist deeply engaged with the world around her, one who found beauty and meaning

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