Women In Art and Style: Georgia O’Keeffe

giorgia okeefe

I know all focus is currently on the fabulous new Switch House extension to the Tate Modern in London, but tbh I’m much more excited about Georgia O’Keeffe’s retrospective coming up this July.

Women artists are at last moving centre stage (or centre gallery perhaps), this month’s Tate Etc magazine has articles on Maria Lassnig, Mona Hatoum, Sheela Gowda, as well as comment from Yayoi Kusama, Judy Chicago, Elizabeth Payton Kate Donachie and Lucy Stein on the importance of Georgia O’Keeffe on their works. The glossies are full of women artists too, Harper’s Bazaar has a great article this month on the women artists who will feature in the new Tate extension.

We’ve been banging on for years here about how women artists are under acknowledged, so it’s about time everyone caught up. Georgia O’Keeffe battled hard for recognition as an artist, saying ‘it takes a kind of nerve…and a lot of hard, hard work.’

While I wait for the exhibition (6th July -30th October) I’m going to be practicing dressing like her. She dressed beautifully but simply, wore lots of black and white, often wore men’s clothes and was never seen in heels. She also had a good way with a Parson’s Hat. Our kind of woman.

Below are a few things I’m considering for my Georgia makeover and we’ll leave the last word to her…

“Men put me down as the best woman painter…I think I’m one of the best painters.”

georgiaof

I’d swear those are Grenson’s on her feet.

emilyGrenson Emily’s

josephLovely Joseph matt silk Bryce shirt dress

ragandboneRag & Bone’s wool fedora

meandemdressMe+Em wrap black dress

zara

Chambray shirt dress from Zara

The gorgeous images of Georgia O’Keeffe are by Todd Webb,

3 Comments

  • Liz Shedden says:

    Just to say thank goodness for your blog – it really is inspiring in the morning over my coffee/ granola/ yoghurt/smoothie (ok actually croissant with lurpak and jam really). I always aspire to doing a blog – especially for over 50 fashion etc but what with running the shop and gallery never seems to quite happen ! I couldn’t agree more ref women artists and Georgia o Keefe style as above – marvellous – Petit Bateau do a very similar black jersey linen dress actually (stocked at b loves b!). Anyway just to say thank you for your daily inspiration – all fabulous.

  • Amanda says:

    Hello Liz and thank you! Really nice to hear you enjoy our daily read with your, ahem, ‘clean’ breakfast…(love a bit of Lurpak). And thanks to YOU for reading us, we have really, really nice readers, I know it sounds cheesy but you guys all make it worth while. Ax PS, good tip on the Petit Bateau dress

  • Osnat says:

    I agree with you Amanda that women artists are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve but we are still a long long way away from equality with men artists in the art world. If you look at most museums around the world women’s art percentage wise is minuscule in comparison with men’s art and when their works of art are sold they do not command the same crazy prices as famous men’s artists work. Georgia O’keefe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No.1 (1932) at $44 million as of now is the highest grossing painting by a female artist but compare it to the Gauguin, Van Gogh, Picasso and Cezanne most expensive paintings…
    I’m also looking forward to seeing this landmark exhibit of Georgia this summer.

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