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Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe
A novel about the life of American master painter Georgia O’Keeffe, her love story with photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and her quest to come of age as a woman. In this novel of a couple, and of passion, betrayal, and art, Georgia comes alive as never before. By the writer whose work Edna O’Brien called "shimmering, audacious."
Georgia O’Keeffe is a young woman, painting and teaching art in Texas, when she travels to New York to meet Alfred Stieglitz, the married gallery owner of 291, modern art promoter, and photographer. Their instantaneous attraction and powerful hunger for each other draw her into his world of art, sex, and passion, and she becomes his mistress and his muse. As their relationship develops, so does Georgia’s place in the art world, but she becomes trapped in her role as the subject of Stieglitz’s infamous nude photographs of her; the critics cannot envision her as her own being. As her own artistic fervor begins to push the boundaries of her life, we see Georgia transform into the powerfully independent woman she is known as today.
Georgia O’Keeffe is a young woman, painting and teaching art in Texas, when she travels to New York to meet Alfred Stieglitz, the married gallery owner of 291, modern art promoter, and photographer. Their instantaneous attraction and powerful hunger for each other draw her into his world of art, sex, and passion, and she becomes his mistress and his muse. As their relationship develops, so does Georgia’s place in the art world, but she becomes trapped in her role as the subject of Stieglitz’s infamous nude photographs of her; the critics cannot envision her as her own being. As her own artistic fervor begins to push the boundaries of her life, we see Georgia transform into the powerfully independent woman she is known as today.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2016
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About the author
Dawn Tripp
9 books352 followersDawn Tripp is the nationally bestselling author of five novels. Her most recent, JACKIE, a fictionalized biography of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award and won the San Diego Writers Historical Fiction Award. She is also the author of GEORGIA, finalist for the New England Book Award and winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. Previous novels include GAME OF SECRETS, MOON TIDE, and THE SEASON OF OPEN WATER, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, NPR, and Conjunctions. Her work has been translated into a dozen languages. She graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons. She currently serves as chair of the board of the Boston Book Festival, and as a visiting writer at the Island School.
www.DawnTripp.com
www.DawnTripp.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 928 reviews
January 5, 2016
I'm always a little skeptical when I read a fictional account of a real person. I can't help but wonder how much of what they say and do in the story is truly reflective of who they were . How much has the author really delved into their lives and just how much is fiction? Dawn Tripp in this truly amazing fictional biography of Georgia O'Keeffe tells us how she "came to O'Keeffe's story through her art ." She saw an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art and wondered why the artist was not recognized for the powerful and beautiful abstract paintings during her lifetime . While the author tells us that she was inspired by real events and letters , she goes on to tell us that the letters and conversations in the novel are invented. It is evident , though, that this is extremely well researched and the author demonstrates a real connection with O'Keeffe . I felt so comfortable that this was a pretty realistic rendering even though I didn't know anything about O'Keeffe's life and was familiar with her only through her beautiful, beautiful flowers . It felt like a real memoir, an intimate look at her life . Before getting too far in I had to see the landscapes and the abstracts so of course I stopped to find the images online . Awestruck!
This the story of O'Keeffe's life and emergence as an artist and her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer and artist in his own right. Their relationship is electric from the moment they began to correspond and more so when they meet. They are immediately drawn to each other through an understanding of the art and omg yes , the physical electricity! There is an intensity in their art as well as their love for each other, a tension between their passion for each other and their passion for their own work , between his control of her art and her desire for independence as an artist.
As their relationship progresses , from lovers to husband and wife, the novel moves from New York City to time spent at Lake George and to Taos , NM, the place where O'Keeffe truly becomes the artist she wants to be. It is in these movements between places that we see O'Keeffe's creative spirit and how it is tied to feeling. The way her art is viewed by critics as being feminine and how she becomes defined by Stieglitz's photographs of her rather than her art , is a source of pain for O'Keeffe as she struggled to become the artist she was . It also is a source of friction in their marriage.
How I wish I could include just a couple of passages so you could get a feel for just how lovely the writing is, but this is an advanced copy and I won't quote per the publisher's request . You'll just have to trust me when I say that Tripp's writing is as beautiful as O'Keeffe's paintings , from the first to the last page . Highly, highly recommended!
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley.
This the story of O'Keeffe's life and emergence as an artist and her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer and artist in his own right. Their relationship is electric from the moment they began to correspond and more so when they meet. They are immediately drawn to each other through an understanding of the art and omg yes , the physical electricity! There is an intensity in their art as well as their love for each other, a tension between their passion for each other and their passion for their own work , between his control of her art and her desire for independence as an artist.
As their relationship progresses , from lovers to husband and wife, the novel moves from New York City to time spent at Lake George and to Taos , NM, the place where O'Keeffe truly becomes the artist she wants to be. It is in these movements between places that we see O'Keeffe's creative spirit and how it is tied to feeling. The way her art is viewed by critics as being feminine and how she becomes defined by Stieglitz's photographs of her rather than her art , is a source of pain for O'Keeffe as she struggled to become the artist she was . It also is a source of friction in their marriage.
How I wish I could include just a couple of passages so you could get a feel for just how lovely the writing is, but this is an advanced copy and I won't quote per the publisher's request . You'll just have to trust me when I say that Tripp's writing is as beautiful as O'Keeffe's paintings , from the first to the last page . Highly, highly recommended!
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley.
March 21, 2016
3 stars
I was thrilled to find out I had won a copy of this work of historical fiction that depicts the life of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. The cover itself is quite stunning and reminded me of the beauty of her paintings which I have not had the pleasure of viewing in quite some time. In fact, what captured my attention the most throughout this book were the beautiful visual images that author Dawn Tripp was able to evoke. I became immersed in her descriptions of Georgia's art, the luxurious greenery of the woods and the allure of Lake George, and the vast openness of the Southwest landscape. However, I struggled with my connection to the story of Georgia's personal and volatile relationship with the renowned photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I wanted to get inside Georgia's mind and understand who she truly was as an artist and a woman in her own right. But, I felt that my intimacy with her only came through her own attachment to Stieglitz. I understood her hopes and dreams only through how they were either realized or frustrated through his influence. Furthermore, I did not like this man. I can't decide if he really loved Georgia or simply loved just the "idea" of her. I felt as if Georgia shined with the greatest brilliance when not beneath Stieglitz's shadow. And yet, would she have achieved such success without him? I can't answer that question, but the independent woman in me would like to think so.
I would like to thank Random House and Goodreads for sending me a free copy through a FirstReads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
I was thrilled to find out I had won a copy of this work of historical fiction that depicts the life of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. The cover itself is quite stunning and reminded me of the beauty of her paintings which I have not had the pleasure of viewing in quite some time. In fact, what captured my attention the most throughout this book were the beautiful visual images that author Dawn Tripp was able to evoke. I became immersed in her descriptions of Georgia's art, the luxurious greenery of the woods and the allure of Lake George, and the vast openness of the Southwest landscape. However, I struggled with my connection to the story of Georgia's personal and volatile relationship with the renowned photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I wanted to get inside Georgia's mind and understand who she truly was as an artist and a woman in her own right. But, I felt that my intimacy with her only came through her own attachment to Stieglitz. I understood her hopes and dreams only through how they were either realized or frustrated through his influence. Furthermore, I did not like this man. I can't decide if he really loved Georgia or simply loved just the "idea" of her. I felt as if Georgia shined with the greatest brilliance when not beneath Stieglitz's shadow. And yet, would she have achieved such success without him? I can't answer that question, but the independent woman in me would like to think so.
I would like to thank Random House and Goodreads for sending me a free copy through a FirstReads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
February 9, 2016
UPDATE: This wonderful book is released today in stores..."February 9th". I want a copy myself!
The spirit is 'overflowing' .............gorgeous writing....incredible story! Lovely read!!!!
I had tears in my eyes by the end of the book. I just finished reading this seconds ago.
I still have a painting by Georgia O'Keefe and I was in Santa Fe during one of her art festivals. Her paintings are gorgeous.
Yet, I knew nothing about what I read in these pages....divided into 5 parts....
I was completely enraptured .....----equally with the author Dawn Tripp ---
because I realize the range of emotions I was feeling came through her ...( her writing).
Up until today ...I simply thought Georgia O'Keefe's art was extraordinary....
but now a window has been opened ...( I can't close it now)..it too late.
I'm not sure I needed to know some of the things I learned...( yet I surprised myself how hungry I was to know everything - and more)
The beauty, complexity, the desires, the anger, regret, and the joy....[thank heavens for the joy], of both these two gifted souls ...O'Keefe & Stieglitz...were fascinating to read about!
Why my tears?
I'm a little envious of their greatness .. their passion .. The life they lived ...( oh, they had some struggles - tragedies- both of them- but mostly I saw two people's lives
that sincerely -passionately loved sex with each other --
I saw a man love a woman just about as real & wonderful as any woman would ever want.
I saw a woman who was faithful to her instincts and impulses that carried her in the direction of excellence that she most desired and valued.
AND THAT's .....F^*king inspiring!!!! .....
Love - art- sex- breathtaking beauty.....It was an honor to read about these two eccentric-luscious human beings.
"The evening star, unearthly, and the feeling, to be enthralled by nothingness. The sky,
so wonderful and big, I breathe it in so deeply. I lie there in the cold quiet, a small thought moving at the edges of my mind – – the possibility that he is like open space, vast like these plains, this night, vast enough it seems sometimes to hold me."
Love this author, *Dawn Tripp*, and would like to read other books she has written. I could have pick pages of lovely quotes. She wrote like a painter herself. Her words came alive -- and it was a joy to imagine Georgia painting - picking a color, then painting not from what she saw, but from the essence that moved her.
Thank You Random House Publishing, Netgalley, and Dawn Tripp
The spirit is 'overflowing' .............gorgeous writing....incredible story! Lovely read!!!!
I had tears in my eyes by the end of the book. I just finished reading this seconds ago.
I still have a painting by Georgia O'Keefe and I was in Santa Fe during one of her art festivals. Her paintings are gorgeous.
Yet, I knew nothing about what I read in these pages....divided into 5 parts....
I was completely enraptured .....----equally with the author Dawn Tripp ---
because I realize the range of emotions I was feeling came through her ...( her writing).
Up until today ...I simply thought Georgia O'Keefe's art was extraordinary....
but now a window has been opened ...( I can't close it now)..it too late.
I'm not sure I needed to know some of the things I learned...( yet I surprised myself how hungry I was to know everything - and more)
The beauty, complexity, the desires, the anger, regret, and the joy....[thank heavens for the joy], of both these two gifted souls ...O'Keefe & Stieglitz...were fascinating to read about!
Why my tears?
I'm a little envious of their greatness .. their passion .. The life they lived ...( oh, they had some struggles - tragedies- both of them- but mostly I saw two people's lives
that sincerely -passionately loved sex with each other --
I saw a man love a woman just about as real & wonderful as any woman would ever want.
I saw a woman who was faithful to her instincts and impulses that carried her in the direction of excellence that she most desired and valued.
AND THAT's .....F^*king inspiring!!!! .....
Love - art- sex- breathtaking beauty.....It was an honor to read about these two eccentric-luscious human beings.
"The evening star, unearthly, and the feeling, to be enthralled by nothingness. The sky,
so wonderful and big, I breathe it in so deeply. I lie there in the cold quiet, a small thought moving at the edges of my mind – – the possibility that he is like open space, vast like these plains, this night, vast enough it seems sometimes to hold me."
Love this author, *Dawn Tripp*, and would like to read other books she has written. I could have pick pages of lovely quotes. She wrote like a painter herself. Her words came alive -- and it was a joy to imagine Georgia painting - picking a color, then painting not from what she saw, but from the essence that moved her.
Thank You Random House Publishing, Netgalley, and Dawn Tripp
January 1, 2016
4.5 My last book of the year, my last review and it was a fantastic read. One of the best books about an artist that I have read in several years. Georgia O'Keefe, love her paintings but never knew much about her as a person. In this book Tripp, does an amazing and thorough job fleshing out the woman and showing us her struggles as an artist. Her husband Stieglitz and their relationship, what kept them connected and what separated them. Credited with the discovery of O'Keefe, he was already a very successful photographer in his own right. Their relationship was passionate, many sex scenes in the beginning of the novel can attest to this and alternately contentious as O'Keefe fought to acquire an identity as an artist separate from his.
Beautifully written, some of the phrases are just breathtaking, many I read more than once. We learn O'Keefe hopes and dreams, what made her who she is, her disappointments and her joys. We follow her from her first meeting with her husband, to her later years in Taos. Through her changing art forms and her visions, where they came from, where she wanted to take them. Her past life is related in O'Keefe's own thoughts but lightly touched on.
The authors note explains her sources as well as how she became interested in O'Keefe herself. Spent much time on Wiki looking up the various pieces mentioned as well as the photographs taken by her husband.
What an amazing woman, what an amazing full life. Tripp really bought this artist to life for me, as a creator and as a woman. Stunning.
ARC from publisher.
Beautifully written, some of the phrases are just breathtaking, many I read more than once. We learn O'Keefe hopes and dreams, what made her who she is, her disappointments and her joys. We follow her from her first meeting with her husband, to her later years in Taos. Through her changing art forms and her visions, where they came from, where she wanted to take them. Her past life is related in O'Keefe's own thoughts but lightly touched on.
The authors note explains her sources as well as how she became interested in O'Keefe herself. Spent much time on Wiki looking up the various pieces mentioned as well as the photographs taken by her husband.
What an amazing woman, what an amazing full life. Tripp really bought this artist to life for me, as a creator and as a woman. Stunning.
ARC from publisher.
February 9, 2016
I will start by saying that I don't know that I can write a review of this novel that will do justice to the brilliance that lies within its pages. I won't pretend to be any kind of art expert... or even an enthusiast, but after reading this I have adopted a new found appreciation for the process of creating it. 'This is not a love story' is stated solemnly in the beginning of this novel... and on some level this is true. This is not a traditional love story. This is a story of the most raw kind of love... the love between a woman, the world she sees around her and the passion she puts into every brushstroke she places on canvas. Tripp's writing in this novel is art in itself. I have never read a novel as beautifully written. A truely magnificent novel. I can not praise this novel enough... 5 brilliantly shining stars.
February 8, 2017
Beautiful. Told in language that is sensual and earnest.
Author Dawn Tripp delivers a biography of an artist, really the relationship between two artists, one a revolutionary abstract artist and the other a world-renowned photographer, their affair and decades long relationship.
Told with warmth and depth, with an eye towards the humanity of Georgia O’Keefe, her art, and the complexity of the dynamic between her and her mentor, lover and husband Alfred Stieglitz. Some of the most provocative scenes in the book are of Stieglitz’s photography of Georgia and how this sometimes erotic posing sparks the raw emotions between them. Though Tripp spends considerable time portraying the complicated arrangement of the marriage, she is careful to always be true to the lasting image of O’Keefe as lone and somber, a serious student, and a strident worker towards her rare artistic vision.
Told as an elderly O’Keefe looks back from the desert to the beginnings of her career as an art teacher in Texas, to her discovery by Stieglitz, the development of their correspondence and later their affair. Tripp narrates from the first person perspective of O’Keefe, who describes in frank and openly candid terms the story of her developing art career and how it evolves along with her relationship with Stieglitz.
O’Keefe’s story is the story of an artist. Tripp uses language and tone that is conducive to a greater understanding of what inspired and what moved the pioneer in American art. Central to the story is the relationship between O’Keefe and Stieglitz and Tripp provides the heat and passion of the liaison while remaining true to the relevance of what the association meant to both. But ultimately this is about Georgia, “fiercely alone” and “a symbol of the American West, reclusive, self reliant” and the creator of her own place in American history.
This is a satisfying, well-researched and well-written biography of an iconic American artist and a glimpse into her world. I recommend it.
Author Dawn Tripp delivers a biography of an artist, really the relationship between two artists, one a revolutionary abstract artist and the other a world-renowned photographer, their affair and decades long relationship.
Told with warmth and depth, with an eye towards the humanity of Georgia O’Keefe, her art, and the complexity of the dynamic between her and her mentor, lover and husband Alfred Stieglitz. Some of the most provocative scenes in the book are of Stieglitz’s photography of Georgia and how this sometimes erotic posing sparks the raw emotions between them. Though Tripp spends considerable time portraying the complicated arrangement of the marriage, she is careful to always be true to the lasting image of O’Keefe as lone and somber, a serious student, and a strident worker towards her rare artistic vision.
Told as an elderly O’Keefe looks back from the desert to the beginnings of her career as an art teacher in Texas, to her discovery by Stieglitz, the development of their correspondence and later their affair. Tripp narrates from the first person perspective of O’Keefe, who describes in frank and openly candid terms the story of her developing art career and how it evolves along with her relationship with Stieglitz.
O’Keefe’s story is the story of an artist. Tripp uses language and tone that is conducive to a greater understanding of what inspired and what moved the pioneer in American art. Central to the story is the relationship between O’Keefe and Stieglitz and Tripp provides the heat and passion of the liaison while remaining true to the relevance of what the association meant to both. But ultimately this is about Georgia, “fiercely alone” and “a symbol of the American West, reclusive, self reliant” and the creator of her own place in American history.
This is a satisfying, well-researched and well-written biography of an iconic American artist and a glimpse into her world. I recommend it.
January 20, 2016
I don't usually decide whether I like a book based on how I feel about the characters -- in fact, I've liked plenty of novels depicting pretty nasty, grouchy, flawed or despicable characters. And, although I can be skeptical, I've liked plenty of novels based on true historical figures -- more recently Circling the Sun, and Vanessa and Her Sister for example. And I have so much respect for my GR friends Elyse, Angela and Diane who loved this book. But I just can't muster much enthusiasm for Georgia, a novel based on Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz's lives and relationship. I liked Georgia, but I didn't like Stieglitz and I just couldn't get my head around why she was attracted to him in the first place. I feel like the author was pushing a sense that Stieglitz was a romantic albeit flawed character. I didn't see the romance. I just saw a self centred egotist. I loved Georgia's iconoclastic spirit and her driven sense of creativity, but I couldn't understand her attraction to Stieglitz. And why when his flaws started to really show through, she kept going back and remained attached to him until the end -- although in the end they were mostly apart. I know that what's depicted is part of a reality -- it would likely have been impossible for O'Keefe to gain any recognition on her own at the time without her connection to Stieglitz, but the relationship grated on me. I know many will love this novel, but I had trouble getting past my frustrations with Stieglitz and their relationship. Again, what I did like is O'Keefe's uniqueness and how her sense of independence shines through in the end. What I also loved is that this book did send me to the internet to look at many of O'Keefe's absolutely luscious paintings. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
May 23, 2016
I wish to thank NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Dawn Tripp for an Advanced copy of Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe. This has been a memorable opportunity.
Where does one begin in adequately defining Georgia O'Keeffe? I was fortunate enough to have viewed some of her original works here in San Antonio some time ago in a special exhibition. Breathless is how it left me and breathless is how Dawn Tripp's book has left me.
I await the hardcopy of this book so that I can underline, circle, and highlight the passages so eloquently written by Tripp. Her prose is to be savored word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. I can't imagine anyone else capable of revealing the passionate zeal of this remarkable woman, this remarkable artist.
Although a work of fiction, Dawn Tripp tells the story of the renowned photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, and the prolific artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. Their lives intermingle in the juxaposition of their sensual attraction, their deep-seeded relationship, their union of the artistic eye. Stieglizt found a purity of vision within O'Keeffe and O'Keeffe found a strength and continuity in spite of Stieglitz. Theirs was a goblet of nirvana and a goblet of poison from the well.
Tripp also threads her story with the sobering effects of history, war, politics, women's vote on the world of art. The boldness of thought and the fearless self-expression brought about abstraction and expressionism. It was a time of breaking through archaic barriers. And O'Keeffe did this mightily through her amazing work.
We see that every previous life experience from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to Texas, to Maine, to New York, to New Mexico put notches in the stirrup for Georgia. We can neither deny who we once were or who we are meant to be. She became more resilient because of these deep-grained notches.
Dawn Tripp paints her own portrait of Georgia with the brushstrokes of her stellar words.....words that I cast to memory and words that won't soon be forgotten.
Where does one begin in adequately defining Georgia O'Keeffe? I was fortunate enough to have viewed some of her original works here in San Antonio some time ago in a special exhibition. Breathless is how it left me and breathless is how Dawn Tripp's book has left me.
I await the hardcopy of this book so that I can underline, circle, and highlight the passages so eloquently written by Tripp. Her prose is to be savored word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. I can't imagine anyone else capable of revealing the passionate zeal of this remarkable woman, this remarkable artist.
Although a work of fiction, Dawn Tripp tells the story of the renowned photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, and the prolific artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. Their lives intermingle in the juxaposition of their sensual attraction, their deep-seeded relationship, their union of the artistic eye. Stieglizt found a purity of vision within O'Keeffe and O'Keeffe found a strength and continuity in spite of Stieglitz. Theirs was a goblet of nirvana and a goblet of poison from the well.
Tripp also threads her story with the sobering effects of history, war, politics, women's vote on the world of art. The boldness of thought and the fearless self-expression brought about abstraction and expressionism. It was a time of breaking through archaic barriers. And O'Keeffe did this mightily through her amazing work.
We see that every previous life experience from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to Texas, to Maine, to New York, to New Mexico put notches in the stirrup for Georgia. We can neither deny who we once were or who we are meant to be. She became more resilient because of these deep-grained notches.
Dawn Tripp paints her own portrait of Georgia with the brushstrokes of her stellar words.....words that I cast to memory and words that won't soon be forgotten.
January 31, 2025
Review to come!
🎧 audiobook 🎧
🎧 audiobook 🎧
December 24, 2015
4.5 stars
Out of all my books read in 2015, this one has my #1 favorite cover, so gorgeous, especially for an ARC. (The finished book actually comes out 3/29/16.) I could look at that beautiful flower all day. It's difficult at times, though, to read descriptions of colors and flowers and paintings, without having the finished artwork in front of you for reference. So I did a lot of Googling. I wonder if the finished book will include some of her pieces; I do think it would add so much. O'Keeffe was an amazingly talented artist. I'm not crazy about her skulls, but underneath those skulls and in her other paintings I see nature in all its glory.
Here we see what was beneath O'Keeffe's own surface, what made her become what she was. Much of it can be attributed to Alfred Stieglitz, who discovered her and became her mentor, lover, and husband. They shared their passion for each other and their art. Throughout their relationship, though, she fought to have others see her art for itself, for women as individuals and not as extensions of anyone else, not what Stieglitz or art critics wanted to read into it. The writing was superb and the storyline interesting, although it did feel at times repetitive as it recounted her yearly treks from NYC to Lake George and back again, until she and her art finally discovered the Taos area, where she was reborn and then spent half her time there painting in solitude.
Have been a fan of hers for a long time, so reading this ARC was a special gift. The final chapter was itself a lovely piece of art, a masterpiece, given us by the author and it almost brought me to tears. Much thanks to LibraryThing!
Out of all my books read in 2015, this one has my #1 favorite cover, so gorgeous, especially for an ARC. (The finished book actually comes out 3/29/16.) I could look at that beautiful flower all day. It's difficult at times, though, to read descriptions of colors and flowers and paintings, without having the finished artwork in front of you for reference. So I did a lot of Googling. I wonder if the finished book will include some of her pieces; I do think it would add so much. O'Keeffe was an amazingly talented artist. I'm not crazy about her skulls, but underneath those skulls and in her other paintings I see nature in all its glory.
Here we see what was beneath O'Keeffe's own surface, what made her become what she was. Much of it can be attributed to Alfred Stieglitz, who discovered her and became her mentor, lover, and husband. They shared their passion for each other and their art. Throughout their relationship, though, she fought to have others see her art for itself, for women as individuals and not as extensions of anyone else, not what Stieglitz or art critics wanted to read into it. The writing was superb and the storyline interesting, although it did feel at times repetitive as it recounted her yearly treks from NYC to Lake George and back again, until she and her art finally discovered the Taos area, where she was reborn and then spent half her time there painting in solitude.
Have been a fan of hers for a long time, so reading this ARC was a special gift. The final chapter was itself a lovely piece of art, a masterpiece, given us by the author and it almost brought me to tears. Much thanks to LibraryThing!
March 13, 2016
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House.
“Georgia,” a work of historical fiction, is based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, the iconoclastic American painter. The book spans the course of her life, but primarily focuses on those years she spent in a relationship with her eventual husband, famed photographer Arthur Stieglitz. The book is narrated by Georgia, but I struggled to connect with her. I felt curiously detached and even somewhat bored as I followed her story. For me, the high point was Georgia’s description of her painting, her love of color and what she saw when she painted – the form, the lines, the abstractions. She is one of my very favorite artists, so I was a little surprised and disappointed that she came across as so colorless herself.
The author, Dawn Tripp, is talented but her style of writing seemed somewhat cold and clinical. I never warmed up to Georgia or felt that I understood her at all.
In sum, I was a bit disappointed. Probably a 2.5, but rounding up to a 3 for the lovely passages around the physical environment and Georgia’s interpretation of that environment onto her canvases.
“Georgia,” a work of historical fiction, is based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, the iconoclastic American painter. The book spans the course of her life, but primarily focuses on those years she spent in a relationship with her eventual husband, famed photographer Arthur Stieglitz. The book is narrated by Georgia, but I struggled to connect with her. I felt curiously detached and even somewhat bored as I followed her story. For me, the high point was Georgia’s description of her painting, her love of color and what she saw when she painted – the form, the lines, the abstractions. She is one of my very favorite artists, so I was a little surprised and disappointed that she came across as so colorless herself.
The author, Dawn Tripp, is talented but her style of writing seemed somewhat cold and clinical. I never warmed up to Georgia or felt that I understood her at all.
In sum, I was a bit disappointed. Probably a 2.5, but rounding up to a 3 for the lovely passages around the physical environment and Georgia’s interpretation of that environment onto her canvases.
February 14, 2016
Wow. Dawn Tripp can write!
"Here I am again. Held down, held back, in a power struggle with some arrogant man, his ego and incompetence that has nothing to do with my art. It's like they're all together in some maddening conspiracy to make me good enough, but not good enough to topple them."
Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe is a beautifully written account of Georgia O'Keefe's life. As a work of historical fiction, it's all it should be. The settings, from Lake George to Taos are vividly rendered. The research is obviously there. The real beauty, though, is the way the characters become known to us. I think it must be very difficult to make a reader feel so intimately connected to the characters; especially if the characters are historical figures with bios that can be read all over the internet.
Georgia's life with Stieglitz went from pillar to post. He was her nurturing mentor and earliest fan. She was the stability and loving home he needed. Though, at times, I was frustrated, saddened, and even enraged at his man/boy antics, it was very clear that they shared a very deep connection. She gave up so much to be with him. Or did she? What would her life, both personal and professional, have been like without him? Though we like to think the times are so very different now, women continue with many of these struggles in an effort to balance everything we need and want in our lives. We probably always will. While I loved Georgia for her strength, creativity, and perseverance, I was most impressed with Georgia's maturity and wisdom:
"... despite the fact that he can still make me so angry, in the end he is just a man whose sunlight is behind him."
I love discovering an author, previously unknown to me, whose next book I'm already looking forward to.
My rating: 4.75 stars
www.litwitwineanddine.com
Thank you to Random House Publishing, via NetGalley, for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Here I am again. Held down, held back, in a power struggle with some arrogant man, his ego and incompetence that has nothing to do with my art. It's like they're all together in some maddening conspiracy to make me good enough, but not good enough to topple them."
Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe is a beautifully written account of Georgia O'Keefe's life. As a work of historical fiction, it's all it should be. The settings, from Lake George to Taos are vividly rendered. The research is obviously there. The real beauty, though, is the way the characters become known to us. I think it must be very difficult to make a reader feel so intimately connected to the characters; especially if the characters are historical figures with bios that can be read all over the internet.
Georgia's life with Stieglitz went from pillar to post. He was her nurturing mentor and earliest fan. She was the stability and loving home he needed. Though, at times, I was frustrated, saddened, and even enraged at his man/boy antics, it was very clear that they shared a very deep connection. She gave up so much to be with him. Or did she? What would her life, both personal and professional, have been like without him? Though we like to think the times are so very different now, women continue with many of these struggles in an effort to balance everything we need and want in our lives. We probably always will. While I loved Georgia for her strength, creativity, and perseverance, I was most impressed with Georgia's maturity and wisdom:
"... despite the fact that he can still make me so angry, in the end he is just a man whose sunlight is behind him."
I love discovering an author, previously unknown to me, whose next book I'm already looking forward to.
My rating: 4.75 stars
www.litwitwineanddine.com
Thank you to Random House Publishing, via NetGalley, for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 16, 2016
(DNF @ 48%) “‘You’ve done it, Georgia,’ [Stieglitz] says. ‘The union of form and color. This. It’s a new American Art.’” Who doesn’t love Georgia O’Keefe’s dreamy paintings of flowers and southwestern scenes? Initially I loved her tough-as-nails voice in this fictionalized autobiography, too, but as the story wore on it felt like she was withholding herself to some degree, only giving the bare facts of (dry, repetitive) everyday life and (wet, repetitive) sex scenes with 24-years-her-elder photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Call me impatient, but I couldn’t be bothered to stick around to see if something actually happened in this novel. I think I’d be interested in glancing through O’Keefe and Stieglitz’s correspondence, though, just to see how the voices compare to what Tripp has created here.
February 1, 2016
I’ve always been fascinated with the work of Georgia O’Keeffe. Her huge, gorgeously colored flowers as well as her work with animal bones are truly amazing. Many believe that her flowers are erotic though I’ve read that Ms. O’Keeffe consistently battled against this interpretation. I am sure that her intent will be debated for years. Regardless of her intent, because of that label of having created erotic art, when I saw this historical novel, I was afraid that the sex would the focus of the book. I decided not to read it but then I received it in the mail with a letter from the publisher saying that I had won the book in a giveaway although I have no recollection of ever entering a giveaway for this book. A couple of friends of mine was gushing over the book so I picked it up with a more open mind, hoping that Ms. O’Keeffe’s life would be accurately portrayed.
I struggled with the first half of the book, several times wanting to give it up. If you enjoy reading about a man and a woman who are constantly grabbing at each other, then this is the book for you. It was like a Harlequin romance where the author is looking for any excuse to insert sex into the page. I understand that the author was trying to convey the passion between Georgia and Alfred Stieglitz; however, she went way overboard. Passion can be written in such a sensual manner when crafted correctly. Ms. Tripp’s description of the passion between these two comes across as crass and common.
The second half of the book improved since their relationship had cooled and Ms. O’Keeffe was branching out on her own. I found all the references to Ms. O’Keeffe’s paintings to be interesting but there really wasn’t anything new revealed about her life and work. There are some worthy glimpses of Ms. O’Keeffe in this book but you have to look for them. It’s mostly a book about the difficult relationship between O’Keeffe and Stieglitz. It’s not a book I can recommend to anyone.
I won this book in a book giveaway.
I struggled with the first half of the book, several times wanting to give it up. If you enjoy reading about a man and a woman who are constantly grabbing at each other, then this is the book for you. It was like a Harlequin romance where the author is looking for any excuse to insert sex into the page. I understand that the author was trying to convey the passion between Georgia and Alfred Stieglitz; however, she went way overboard. Passion can be written in such a sensual manner when crafted correctly. Ms. Tripp’s description of the passion between these two comes across as crass and common.
The second half of the book improved since their relationship had cooled and Ms. O’Keeffe was branching out on her own. I found all the references to Ms. O’Keeffe’s paintings to be interesting but there really wasn’t anything new revealed about her life and work. There are some worthy glimpses of Ms. O’Keeffe in this book but you have to look for them. It’s mostly a book about the difficult relationship between O’Keeffe and Stieglitz. It’s not a book I can recommend to anyone.
I won this book in a book giveaway.
August 17, 2016
I enjoyed this. I'm restless as we head into the final days of our temporary housing and this provided a much needed diversion from all things moving. Georgia O'Keeffe has always fascinated me. Her art, her individualism, her personal life, but mostly her separateness. This fictionalized account of her life does a sublime job of telling her story. Well-written, well-researched, and peppered throughout with actual events from her life. Her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz defines much of her adult life and her struggle to remain true to her art. She succeeds but it is not without damage and this novel touches on it all. Their marriage, their art, their friendships, their art, the affairs, their art. It kept me busy looking up Stieglitz's photographs and O'Keeffe's paintings. Their letters were epic. Their relationship complicated. Stieglitz manages her career and decides which paintings to exhibit. Though she dislikes his control she is unable to put an end to it. He strays. She is gutted. She outlives him by something like forty years and it is then that she is finally out from under his influence. I wish there was more of the novel dedicated to that period in her life because, you know, artistic freedom. She thrived in New Mexico until her death in 1996.
June 21, 2024
Inspired by the life of the extraordinary iconic American artist, Georgia O’Keeffe, the "Mother of American modernism", and her love relationship with, photographer Alfred Stieglitz; beautifully drawn, Dawn Tripp evokes emotion, complexity, passion, and creativity with her stunning delivery of GEORGIA.
Not only an exploration of O’Keeffe’s life, art, politics, and influence; however, more importantly, an example of the many tough challenges faced by women of the era. The 1920s marked a period of new freedom for women in America's modernizing urban culture.
Set in a world of change, at the end of WWI to the Roaring '20s and then the Great Depression, scrutinized both personally and professionally-- Readers will be swept away; from erotic, bold, intense, romantic, control, and sacrifice. Powerful and evocative!
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." -Georgia O'Keeffe
Capturing the awareness, spirit and raw desires of two extraordinary artists-- Tripp creates imagining dialogue, and scenes between the two, as well as their circle of friends, family, and acquaintances—to create a mesmerizing blending; an infusion of fact and fiction—strong human dynamics of love and desires.
Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the most significant and intriguing artists of the twentieth century, known internationally for her boldly innovative art. Her distinct flowers, dramatic cityscapes, glowing landscapes, and images of bones against the stark desert sky are iconic and original contributions to American Modernism.
Early on, O’Keeffe mailed some of her highly abstract drawings to a friend in New York City, who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz. An art dealer and internationally known photographer, he was the first to exhibit her work in 1916. Soon thereafter, her life took on a drastic change--a passionate and often tumultuous relationship, to the desperate need to step out of his shadow.
Georgia O’Keeffe is a young woman, painting and teaching art in Texas, when she travels to New York to meet Alfred Stieglitz, the married gallery owner of 291, modern art promoter, and photographer. Their instantaneous attraction and powerful hunger for each other draw her into his world of art, sex, and passion, and she becomes his mistress and his muse. He would eventually become O’Keeffe’s husband.
The language of letters –Intimate, vulnerable, complex. A woman of exceptional passion, a rigorous intelligence, and a strong creative drive. From 1915 until 1946, some 25,000 pieces of paper were exchanged between two major 20th-century artists. Painter Georgia O'Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz wrote each other letters — sometimes two and three a day, some of them 40 pages long.
The correspondence tracks their relationship from acquaintances to admirers to lovers, man and wife, and their marriage struggles. As her own artistic fervor begins to push the boundaries of her life, we see Georgia transform into the powerfully independent woman she is known as today.
The author was inspired and fascinated behind the discrepancies in fact as well as varied interpretation of the woman behind the icon. As Tripp reiterates, the critical language repeatedly used to describe and define O’Keeffe’s work by male critics during her lifetime was an important inspiration for the novel. In gendered terms—“limiting our perception of her art and influence.”
From New York, 1917, Texas, to New Mexico, 1979, time stands still when he whispers, “Don’t move”, Georgia. “Whatever you are thinking, don’t lose it. Don’t move. Don’t blink. Nothing. “
“Perhaps Stieglitz is not my life, but a detour from it.”
O'Keeffe's distinctive way of rendering nature in shapes and forms that made them seem simultaneously familiar and new earned her a reputation as a pioneer of the form. Georgia blazed new trials for women artists and in 1946, O’Keeffe became the first woman to earn a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
Twenty-four years later, a Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective exhibit introduced her work to a new generation. Fifteen years after that, O'Keeffe was included in the inaugural slate of artists chosen to receive the newly founded National Medal of Arts for her contribution to American culture.
Nice cover in relation to the essence of the flower. The famous Petunia, where she magnifies the flower's form to emphasize its shape --representative of nature and her usage of flowers as a motif.
Impeccably researched, Tripp’s writing is lyrical, sensuous, provocative, magical and poetic—the canvas, the brush, and the characters come to life. With sparks of history, culture, sex, love, romance, art, creativity, and strong emotions-- the words jump off each page. Historic fans will delight in the life of the artist icon, and equally impressed with the talented storyteller. Captivating.
On a personal note: The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe is the first museum in the US dedicated to a female artist, and its research center sponsors significant fellowships for scholars of modern American art. Having spent time in Santa Fe, NW as well as the Southwest, if you get an opportunity, visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (fascinating)!
JDCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Not only an exploration of O’Keeffe’s life, art, politics, and influence; however, more importantly, an example of the many tough challenges faced by women of the era. The 1920s marked a period of new freedom for women in America's modernizing urban culture.
Set in a world of change, at the end of WWI to the Roaring '20s and then the Great Depression, scrutinized both personally and professionally-- Readers will be swept away; from erotic, bold, intense, romantic, control, and sacrifice. Powerful and evocative!
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." -Georgia O'Keeffe
Capturing the awareness, spirit and raw desires of two extraordinary artists-- Tripp creates imagining dialogue, and scenes between the two, as well as their circle of friends, family, and acquaintances—to create a mesmerizing blending; an infusion of fact and fiction—strong human dynamics of love and desires.
Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the most significant and intriguing artists of the twentieth century, known internationally for her boldly innovative art. Her distinct flowers, dramatic cityscapes, glowing landscapes, and images of bones against the stark desert sky are iconic and original contributions to American Modernism.
Early on, O’Keeffe mailed some of her highly abstract drawings to a friend in New York City, who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz. An art dealer and internationally known photographer, he was the first to exhibit her work in 1916. Soon thereafter, her life took on a drastic change--a passionate and often tumultuous relationship, to the desperate need to step out of his shadow.
Georgia O’Keeffe is a young woman, painting and teaching art in Texas, when she travels to New York to meet Alfred Stieglitz, the married gallery owner of 291, modern art promoter, and photographer. Their instantaneous attraction and powerful hunger for each other draw her into his world of art, sex, and passion, and she becomes his mistress and his muse. He would eventually become O’Keeffe’s husband.
The language of letters –Intimate, vulnerable, complex. A woman of exceptional passion, a rigorous intelligence, and a strong creative drive. From 1915 until 1946, some 25,000 pieces of paper were exchanged between two major 20th-century artists. Painter Georgia O'Keeffe and photographer Alfred Stieglitz wrote each other letters — sometimes two and three a day, some of them 40 pages long.
The correspondence tracks their relationship from acquaintances to admirers to lovers, man and wife, and their marriage struggles. As her own artistic fervor begins to push the boundaries of her life, we see Georgia transform into the powerfully independent woman she is known as today.
The author was inspired and fascinated behind the discrepancies in fact as well as varied interpretation of the woman behind the icon. As Tripp reiterates, the critical language repeatedly used to describe and define O’Keeffe’s work by male critics during her lifetime was an important inspiration for the novel. In gendered terms—“limiting our perception of her art and influence.”
From New York, 1917, Texas, to New Mexico, 1979, time stands still when he whispers, “Don’t move”, Georgia. “Whatever you are thinking, don’t lose it. Don’t move. Don’t blink. Nothing. “
“Perhaps Stieglitz is not my life, but a detour from it.”
O'Keeffe's distinctive way of rendering nature in shapes and forms that made them seem simultaneously familiar and new earned her a reputation as a pioneer of the form. Georgia blazed new trials for women artists and in 1946, O’Keeffe became the first woman to earn a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
Twenty-four years later, a Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective exhibit introduced her work to a new generation. Fifteen years after that, O'Keeffe was included in the inaugural slate of artists chosen to receive the newly founded National Medal of Arts for her contribution to American culture.
Nice cover in relation to the essence of the flower. The famous Petunia, where she magnifies the flower's form to emphasize its shape --representative of nature and her usage of flowers as a motif.
Impeccably researched, Tripp’s writing is lyrical, sensuous, provocative, magical and poetic—the canvas, the brush, and the characters come to life. With sparks of history, culture, sex, love, romance, art, creativity, and strong emotions-- the words jump off each page. Historic fans will delight in the life of the artist icon, and equally impressed with the talented storyteller. Captivating.
On a personal note: The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe is the first museum in the US dedicated to a female artist, and its research center sponsors significant fellowships for scholars of modern American art. Having spent time in Santa Fe, NW as well as the Southwest, if you get an opportunity, visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (fascinating)!
JDCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read
February 10, 2016This is Tripp's richly imagined take on the famous painter Georgia O'Keefe, and her love affair with the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Shortly after meeting, Stieglitz began showing O'Keefe's art in his gallery, and soon after that, they were lovers. This is the story of Georgia as artist and mistress, and one of the most fascinating relationships in the history of art. Tripp has painted a beautiful love story.
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Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/category/all-the-...
November 14, 2022
When I read George Saunders's novel about Lincoln, Lincoln in the Bardo, I did not once question why he wrote the book; it seemed obvious that this was a way to illuminate the true bodhisattva nature of a great historical figure (a theory that Saunders confirmed when I emailed him a fan letter). When I read Amy Bloom's novel White Houses about Eleanor Roosevelt's deeply romantic and sexual relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok, the why seemed obvious: to correct a sanitized history. But when I read Georgia, despite a front-of-book author's note spelling out the motivation for writing the novel (". . . not just to explore O'Keeffe's life and art, but also the challenges faced by women on the forefront of any discipline") the question of why never left my head. I never viscerally felt the why. And I just wasn't that interested in the author's descriptions of a person who she had never met: her private unknowable thoughts, motivations, and sexual experiences. Maybe this is my failing. I find tedious the constant deconstruction and explanation of any art through narrative, and there is a lot of that here. And I found myself wondering if O'Keeffe was exploited here for a writer's reasons that I never experienced.
I like flawed, unlikable characters, but in this book about two of them, O'Keeffe and her lover Alfred Stieglitz, I found myself, on one hand, bored with the repetitive infidelities and jealousies and declarations of love turned to wistfulness and plain old navel-gazing glumness between people I didn't care about, and on the other hand, feeling defensive for O'Keeffe. Here was this woman whose work was judged in gender terms she never agreed with (that's the "challenge" addressed by author Dawn Tripp) again being smacked with somebody else's take on her personality. And I wondered if the self-centeredness and constant analysis of art was less true to the characters than it was to the author. And I found myself wanting to abandon the book in defense of people who are not here to defend themselves. But I didn't abandon it, as this was my book club's pick for July.
I like flawed, unlikable characters, but in this book about two of them, O'Keeffe and her lover Alfred Stieglitz, I found myself, on one hand, bored with the repetitive infidelities and jealousies and declarations of love turned to wistfulness and plain old navel-gazing glumness between people I didn't care about, and on the other hand, feeling defensive for O'Keeffe. Here was this woman whose work was judged in gender terms she never agreed with (that's the "challenge" addressed by author Dawn Tripp) again being smacked with somebody else's take on her personality. And I wondered if the self-centeredness and constant analysis of art was less true to the characters than it was to the author. And I found myself wanting to abandon the book in defense of people who are not here to defend themselves. But I didn't abandon it, as this was my book club's pick for July.
January 31, 2016
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This historical fiction novel is largely based on the artist Georgia O’Keefe and her relationship with American photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I’ve only known Georgia O’Keefe from her flower paintings so I came into this book with no background knowledge. I was also interested in her history since she is a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and I live not too far from that area. I have to say that the beautiful cover of the book enticed me from the beginning
This book was a slow starter for me, however I did enjoy reading about how she came to painting from her initial charcoal drawings. What was also very interesting was the time and place of the book, art was really a man’s world in the early days of Georgia’s career.
Alfred was obsessed with O’Keefe, not only her art but the woman herself. He found beauty in everything about her. His photographs of her, clothed and nude, were presented in one of his shows and quickly brought in interested patrons, not only for Stieglitz’s photography but also those wanting to know this woman whom he was so enchanted with.
Georgia struggles with her acceptance as an artist. She knows that it is because of Stieglitz that her art gets the attention that it does. When they finally marry it seems that they have a passionate but at times troubled marriage. In the early years of their marriage Georgia tells Alfred “I want a child, Stieglitz—you’ve promised me from the start, and if now is not quite the right time, I’m perfectly capable of talking that through” but there is no further mention of a child in the novel so the reader doesn’t know if this is something that Georgia really wanted in her life.
Georgia is so much a part of the politics of women at that time, with her bold thoughts and abstract expressionism. She keeps pushing herself and is never really satisfied with her work. When she paints cityscapes Alfred is less than pleased. He seems to want to keep her doing what she has done well and what sells.
From Sum Prairie, to New York and eventually settling in New Mexico the artist grows in her work. This book will have you on the internet looking up her art and seeing for yourself some of the transitions that she has gone through.
I do recommend this book, it was very entertaining and informative. I enjoyed the fact that it was written from Georgia’s point of view.
This historical fiction novel is largely based on the artist Georgia O’Keefe and her relationship with American photographer Alfred Stieglitz. I’ve only known Georgia O’Keefe from her flower paintings so I came into this book with no background knowledge. I was also interested in her history since she is a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and I live not too far from that area. I have to say that the beautiful cover of the book enticed me from the beginning
This book was a slow starter for me, however I did enjoy reading about how she came to painting from her initial charcoal drawings. What was also very interesting was the time and place of the book, art was really a man’s world in the early days of Georgia’s career.
Alfred was obsessed with O’Keefe, not only her art but the woman herself. He found beauty in everything about her. His photographs of her, clothed and nude, were presented in one of his shows and quickly brought in interested patrons, not only for Stieglitz’s photography but also those wanting to know this woman whom he was so enchanted with.
Georgia struggles with her acceptance as an artist. She knows that it is because of Stieglitz that her art gets the attention that it does. When they finally marry it seems that they have a passionate but at times troubled marriage. In the early years of their marriage Georgia tells Alfred “I want a child, Stieglitz—you’ve promised me from the start, and if now is not quite the right time, I’m perfectly capable of talking that through” but there is no further mention of a child in the novel so the reader doesn’t know if this is something that Georgia really wanted in her life.
Georgia is so much a part of the politics of women at that time, with her bold thoughts and abstract expressionism. She keeps pushing herself and is never really satisfied with her work. When she paints cityscapes Alfred is less than pleased. He seems to want to keep her doing what she has done well and what sells.
From Sum Prairie, to New York and eventually settling in New Mexico the artist grows in her work. This book will have you on the internet looking up her art and seeing for yourself some of the transitions that she has gone through.
I do recommend this book, it was very entertaining and informative. I enjoyed the fact that it was written from Georgia’s point of view.
February 13, 2016
This is the Georgia O'Keefe I've wanted to know, from someone who has tried to absorb her childhood, upbringing, place in the world and understand what she was trying to express, how it was both uplifted and repressed by the decisions she made, the choices, few of them her own, the effect of Steiglitz managing and directing her career, their relationship, her need for a child, thier life between New York and The Lake until she allows herself to visit New Mexico with Beck and begins an annual pilgrimage that will eventually consume her entirely.
Her rejection of her art being seen through the same lens as the camera, rejection of that association, with gender, the feminine.
Her mental decline from accepting it all, the inevitable, necessary turning point, turning away from him, though forever connected to him.
Dawn Tripp has us completely immersed in a perception of the life of Georgia O'Keefe that feels as real as if it were the artist herself speaking, though we all know how private she was and through this novel can understand that need even more so.
I've loved O'Keefe's paintings since I stumbled across them one day in an art gallery in Chicago and felt the effect of them, rather than saw them, for they are indeed imbued with feeling and so it is such a pleasure to read this novel that attempts to get inside that portrayl and share something that feels more genuine than the easy reference that so many of the male critics of the time jumped to, insinuating the sexual, rather than the essence of life itself.
Absolutely brilliant, loved it.
Her rejection of her art being seen through the same lens as the camera, rejection of that association, with gender, the feminine.
Her mental decline from accepting it all, the inevitable, necessary turning point, turning away from him, though forever connected to him.
Dawn Tripp has us completely immersed in a perception of the life of Georgia O'Keefe that feels as real as if it were the artist herself speaking, though we all know how private she was and through this novel can understand that need even more so.
I've loved O'Keefe's paintings since I stumbled across them one day in an art gallery in Chicago and felt the effect of them, rather than saw them, for they are indeed imbued with feeling and so it is such a pleasure to read this novel that attempts to get inside that portrayl and share something that feels more genuine than the easy reference that so many of the male critics of the time jumped to, insinuating the sexual, rather than the essence of life itself.
Absolutely brilliant, loved it.
February 28, 2017
I am now obsessed with Georgia O'Keeffe and her art. I've changed my screen savers and my iphone screen to her art work. I've reserved every book of her work at the library and ordered stamps and notecards, etc. O'Keeffe is a large figure here in New Mexico and her art and museum are important to New Mexico as she loved living here and loved it's skies, hills, light, animals, sage, terrain, etc. I drive through Abiqui and Ghost Ranch many times each year and marvel at its beauty. I see what she saw, only she captured it in her art work in such a unique way.
I didn't know much about Georgia O'Keeffe, and this fictionalized novel was a nice introduction to spur me on to learn more. This novel covered her early life in detail but left out much of her later life and art in New Mexico and the most curious of relationships, that of her companion, 58 years her junior, Juan Hamilton. He's left out of this novel and I want to more. Steiglitz is the focus here and there was too much of their sexual relationship here that I didn't care much about, although I believe it formed her in many ways.
An issue I had with the audio was the chipperness (word I made up?) of the narrator. I don't think Georgia O'Keeffe a chipper, upbeat, perky or buoyant woman.
I credit this book for lighting a fire under me to explore more of Georgia O'Keefe's work and life. I subscribed to The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum newsletter as well as a Ghost Ranch newsletter and want to tour her home in Abiqui as well as stay at the Mabel Dodge Lujan House in Taos next time I head up there.
I didn't know much about Georgia O'Keeffe, and this fictionalized novel was a nice introduction to spur me on to learn more. This novel covered her early life in detail but left out much of her later life and art in New Mexico and the most curious of relationships, that of her companion, 58 years her junior, Juan Hamilton. He's left out of this novel and I want to more. Steiglitz is the focus here and there was too much of their sexual relationship here that I didn't care much about, although I believe it formed her in many ways.
An issue I had with the audio was the chipperness (word I made up?) of the narrator. I don't think Georgia O'Keeffe a chipper, upbeat, perky or buoyant woman.
I credit this book for lighting a fire under me to explore more of Georgia O'Keefe's work and life. I subscribed to The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum newsletter as well as a Ghost Ranch newsletter and want to tour her home in Abiqui as well as stay at the Mabel Dodge Lujan House in Taos next time I head up there.
November 30, 2015
This is a gorgeous book--sensual, intelligent, and moving. From the first beautiful line to the last, memorable sentence, GEORGIA is a perfect marriage of story and fabulous writing. Readers will savor every sentence as the story hurtles forward in emotional waves of awakening and romance between two passionate artists (Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Steiglitz). Told from Georgia's perspective,in language that is both grounded and profound, this novel is infused with the mystery of what inspires great art and charged with the electricity of love and passion. The many faces of human vulnerability and flaws are displayed in full color in this splendid, unforgettable read.
August 3, 2016
A great deal of courage is required for an author to write historical fiction in memoir style, as is the case with the brilliant novel Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe. Dawn Tripp has thrown caution to the winds and embraced the voice of the famous American artist passionately.
Biography requires factual representation and an orderly interpretation, usually reported through documents, letters, description by others living at the same time and framed by its author, proving the legitimacy of their analysis.
"Georgia" the novel, takes the facts, immerses them in the pigments of O'Keeffe's palette and surrounds us with her spirit, her sensuous responses to shape and colour, the great depths of her bonds with the primal and physical world and awakens us to the urgent, immediate, necessary neediness of filling herself with a transporting love of creation.
Alfred Stieglitz, twenty-five years her senior, becomes her mentor, her lover, business partner. He photographs her famously, casting her paintings as those images' erotic extensions; Georgia resists comparison even though her own fame and fortune begins as an extension of Stieglitz's images. Their relationship is heady, filled with longing and desire, always slightly out of reach. He is a vain man, in need of being idolized, and becomes unfaithful.
"What he did or did not do. It should not, cannot matter. Whether it's something or nothing. I should not care. A body, a kiss, or those fugitive clouds he tries to seize rushing over the hill. It does not matter that I once threw myself into him like water."
Oh, the words that Dawn Tripp writes! I fell into them, drowned in Georgia's feelings, was drenched by the lush colours of the words and recognized lives and loves of men and women, intimately glorious and piercingly crushed. How well do we know anyone? Perhaps as well as we can imagine from the little we know - and this novel has imagined Georgia O'Keeffe sumptuously.
Five stars. A divine, sensual read.
Biography requires factual representation and an orderly interpretation, usually reported through documents, letters, description by others living at the same time and framed by its author, proving the legitimacy of their analysis.
"Georgia" the novel, takes the facts, immerses them in the pigments of O'Keeffe's palette and surrounds us with her spirit, her sensuous responses to shape and colour, the great depths of her bonds with the primal and physical world and awakens us to the urgent, immediate, necessary neediness of filling herself with a transporting love of creation.
Alfred Stieglitz, twenty-five years her senior, becomes her mentor, her lover, business partner. He photographs her famously, casting her paintings as those images' erotic extensions; Georgia resists comparison even though her own fame and fortune begins as an extension of Stieglitz's images. Their relationship is heady, filled with longing and desire, always slightly out of reach. He is a vain man, in need of being idolized, and becomes unfaithful.
"What he did or did not do. It should not, cannot matter. Whether it's something or nothing. I should not care. A body, a kiss, or those fugitive clouds he tries to seize rushing over the hill. It does not matter that I once threw myself into him like water."
Oh, the words that Dawn Tripp writes! I fell into them, drowned in Georgia's feelings, was drenched by the lush colours of the words and recognized lives and loves of men and women, intimately glorious and piercingly crushed. How well do we know anyone? Perhaps as well as we can imagine from the little we know - and this novel has imagined Georgia O'Keeffe sumptuously.
Five stars. A divine, sensual read.
January 6, 2016
This novel tells O’Keeffe’s story from her own point of view, as an old woman looking back on her life, starting from the time she was 27 and had sent some charcoal abstracts to Alfred Stieglitz in New York to get his opinion. A correspondence sprang up between then, and one day, after learning Stieglitz had mounted a show of her work, she walked away from her job as a teacher in Texas, withdrew her bank account, and took the train to New York to see it. It turned out that the show had just been dismantled; the studio, 291, was closing because of the war. But the relationship that had already started on paper bloomed in person, with Stieglitz rehanging her paintings just for her to see. By the time Georgia left to return to Texas, they were passionate about each other, a passion that would remain throughout their lives with all its ups and downs.
A lot of the story is about Georgia’s love affair and marriage to Stieglitz; her work was shown and sold through him so he is inextricably bound to her professional life. Their marriage might have been passionate, but it was a troubled one. He wanted to support her work in every way (except by being someone she could trust, martially), but also seemed to fear her being on her own. They had a dependence on each other; she more dependent on him at the beginning; he more on her, later.
The writing is intense and rather amazing. Tripp wrote this after O’Keeffe and Stieglitz’s correspondence was published, and she combed their letters thoroughly. In some spots, she has used their own words. The thing that impressed me the most was the author’s ability to describe painting; how it felt to put charcoal or brush to paper or canvas, how the colors sat against each other, how the creative urge felt. How it felt different to do the lush flowers, the desert landscapes, the abstracts. I really felt that I was inside O’Keeffe’s mind as she thought back on her life.
A lot of the story is about Georgia’s love affair and marriage to Stieglitz; her work was shown and sold through him so he is inextricably bound to her professional life. Their marriage might have been passionate, but it was a troubled one. He wanted to support her work in every way (except by being someone she could trust, martially), but also seemed to fear her being on her own. They had a dependence on each other; she more dependent on him at the beginning; he more on her, later.
The writing is intense and rather amazing. Tripp wrote this after O’Keeffe and Stieglitz’s correspondence was published, and she combed their letters thoroughly. In some spots, she has used their own words. The thing that impressed me the most was the author’s ability to describe painting; how it felt to put charcoal or brush to paper or canvas, how the colors sat against each other, how the creative urge felt. How it felt different to do the lush flowers, the desert landscapes, the abstracts. I really felt that I was inside O’Keeffe’s mind as she thought back on her life.
September 5, 2016
Such a beautiful, insightful portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe and her marriage to Alfred Stieglitz. This is a fictionalized account of their lives but offered such a compelling look at the inner life of an artist I have so long admired. I also had the pleasure to appear in conversation with Dawn Tripp recently in Tampa, Florida. It was so much fun, and we discussed some very interesting and relevant topics from the book!
May 16, 2019
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) was an American artist, best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, NY skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes.
This story begins in 1915. Georgia is an art teacher in Abiquiu, New Mexico. She submits her charcoal abstractions to Alfred Stieglitz, the father of modern photography in NY, for an honest opinion.
“In groundbreaking shows at 291 Alfred Stieglitz had introduced NY to the work of Picasso and Matisse. A brilliant photographer in his own right, he was known more for the careers of the artists he’d ‘made.’”
His response is instant. He wants to see more of her work. He already recognizes a legend in her.
In May 1917, he displays her work, thus creating her first show. It happens shortly before closing his gallery for good due to war.
She’s driven with a sharp-tongue, speaks her mind, doesn’t care what people think about her. And for that and other things, people shun her in her small town. When she doesn’t feel well, jokingly, she blames it “on the town, how I am choked by its backwater stupidity, the hostile looks.”
Her paintings are true representation of her, how she feels. “I paint as I feel it. Light, sky, air. As I want it to be felt.”
She moves to NY where her professional relationship with Stieglitz develops into something more. He has a wife and a daughter.
Nevertheless, her career under his patronage and direction continues to flourish.
The character of Georgia is very well developed. As the story progresses, it reveals also more about her family: parents and sisters.
The sexual context and some provocative nude poses he photographs were not of interest to me.
When she starts being recognized as a creator of a new American Art and articles come out, they are not what she expected. They are mixed, flattering her art through his photographs, an unsettling argument seeps in between them. Now, it’s more of her fight defending who she is as an artist. She has every right to defend her work, to be recognized for her work and not through his work. But the sharp-tongue Georgie, once she was, is gone. The Georgia involved with Stieglitz seems to be a different person.
Told by Georgia from the perspective of past time, the story begins with my favorite line, “I bought this house for the door.”
The first half of the story is interesting. However, in the second half, even though as the tone in the reviews of her work begins to change, the story becomes stagnant. The same things come up over and over again: their work, exhibits, reviews, them having arguments, and having sex.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
This story begins in 1915. Georgia is an art teacher in Abiquiu, New Mexico. She submits her charcoal abstractions to Alfred Stieglitz, the father of modern photography in NY, for an honest opinion.
“In groundbreaking shows at 291 Alfred Stieglitz had introduced NY to the work of Picasso and Matisse. A brilliant photographer in his own right, he was known more for the careers of the artists he’d ‘made.’”
His response is instant. He wants to see more of her work. He already recognizes a legend in her.
In May 1917, he displays her work, thus creating her first show. It happens shortly before closing his gallery for good due to war.
She’s driven with a sharp-tongue, speaks her mind, doesn’t care what people think about her. And for that and other things, people shun her in her small town. When she doesn’t feel well, jokingly, she blames it “on the town, how I am choked by its backwater stupidity, the hostile looks.”
Her paintings are true representation of her, how she feels. “I paint as I feel it. Light, sky, air. As I want it to be felt.”
She moves to NY where her professional relationship with Stieglitz develops into something more. He has a wife and a daughter.
Nevertheless, her career under his patronage and direction continues to flourish.
The character of Georgia is very well developed. As the story progresses, it reveals also more about her family: parents and sisters.
The sexual context and some provocative nude poses he photographs were not of interest to me.
When she starts being recognized as a creator of a new American Art and articles come out, they are not what she expected. They are mixed, flattering her art through his photographs, an unsettling argument seeps in between them. Now, it’s more of her fight defending who she is as an artist. She has every right to defend her work, to be recognized for her work and not through his work. But the sharp-tongue Georgie, once she was, is gone. The Georgia involved with Stieglitz seems to be a different person.
Told by Georgia from the perspective of past time, the story begins with my favorite line, “I bought this house for the door.”
The first half of the story is interesting. However, in the second half, even though as the tone in the reviews of her work begins to change, the story becomes stagnant. The same things come up over and over again: their work, exhibits, reviews, them having arguments, and having sex.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
February 9, 2017
I loved it. Could not put it down. I can't place my finger on the reason, but I feel connected to Georgia O'Keeffe and I have for over 20 years. Although this is a novel based on her life, I felt there was so much truth to it. Maybe it aligns with the person I assumed she was.
Like O'Keeffe, I also am in love with Santa Fe and Abiquiu. The descriptive writing took me right back. I felt like I was there with her.
The relationship with her husband Alfred Stieglitz was hard to read about. I haven't been so upset with a husband since Ernest Hemingway in The Paris Wife. This book does focus heavily on her life with Stieglitz.
My favorite quote: "This is not a love story. If it were, we would have the same story. But he has his, and I have mine."
Those are the words that did it for me. I was hooked. I will read this again one day.
One more quote, similar: "He once called our relationship a mixing of the souls. But then again, he called it a love story. And it was far more - and less - than that."
As a side note, I did go to the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe a few years back and it was fantastic.
Like O'Keeffe, I also am in love with Santa Fe and Abiquiu. The descriptive writing took me right back. I felt like I was there with her.
The relationship with her husband Alfred Stieglitz was hard to read about. I haven't been so upset with a husband since Ernest Hemingway in The Paris Wife. This book does focus heavily on her life with Stieglitz.
My favorite quote: "This is not a love story. If it were, we would have the same story. But he has his, and I have mine."
Those are the words that did it for me. I was hooked. I will read this again one day.
One more quote, similar: "He once called our relationship a mixing of the souls. But then again, he called it a love story. And it was far more - and less - than that."
As a side note, I did go to the O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe a few years back and it was fantastic.
March 7, 2017
I think my first exposure to Georgia O'Keeffe was through a friend who had some beautiful prints framed in her kitchen. Then about 12 years ago I went to Santa Fe and we visited the museum. I was completely enthralled.
But now that I've read this book, I realize I knew very little about her life and had assumed much that wasn't at all true! I didn't know about her relationship and marriage to Stieglitz (okay, true confession, I didn't even know who Stieglitz was. Don't judge ;-). Add in the struggles of being an artist (a woman artist in the early 1900s), her fierce independence, her unfulfilled desires, their colorful friends, their life in New York City, her love of the Southwest... there's so much that I enjoyed about this novel. She lived a long life, and the later years, when she moved permanently to New Mexico, are not discussed much. I believe these were very productive for her? I want to find out more about those later years.
I'm very excited to meet the author next month at the Newburyport Literary Festival. And I have a great desire to return to that museum in Santa Fe.
But now that I've read this book, I realize I knew very little about her life and had assumed much that wasn't at all true! I didn't know about her relationship and marriage to Stieglitz (okay, true confession, I didn't even know who Stieglitz was. Don't judge ;-). Add in the struggles of being an artist (a woman artist in the early 1900s), her fierce independence, her unfulfilled desires, their colorful friends, their life in New York City, her love of the Southwest... there's so much that I enjoyed about this novel. She lived a long life, and the later years, when she moved permanently to New Mexico, are not discussed much. I believe these were very productive for her? I want to find out more about those later years.
I'm very excited to meet the author next month at the Newburyport Literary Festival. And I have a great desire to return to that museum in Santa Fe.
January 4, 2016
Dawn Tripp has painted a wonderful portrait of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe in her novel about the artist. I knew her paintings and a little bit about her life before I read this book but I learned so much more about her life and her struggles to become accepted as an artist in what was really a man's world. Alfred Steiglitz was her mentor, her lover, her husband and ultimately the person who tried to hold her back. She was a gifted, brash, solitary but very honest person who knew that her goal in life was to create art out of the life around her. The book was fantastic and I couldn't put it down. Since I finished, I have been on line, looking at her paintings and his photos of her. Its more than just a book about a famous artist, it's a book about a woman who breaks out of the norms of her times and the struggles that she has to go through to be successful.
April 28, 2016
I was very disappointed in this book. I felt it read like a trashy romance novel rather than historical fiction and even the sexy parts were not written very well. Having read a LOT about Georgia I did not feel it represented her or her relationship with Alfred the way I perceive them to have been. Also, it could have been called Georgia and Alfred as it is mostly about their relationship and a lot more about him than you might expect. I worry about the impression it will give people of Ms. O'Keeffe but I guess when someone writes Historical Fiction they can say what they want. I would not recommend this book but would suggest reading one of the biographies or many other books about Ms O'Keeffe that do not sexualize her or focus solely on her relationship with Alfred.
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