Georgia O'Keeffe: An Eternal Spirit

American Artists

by Susan Wright

Book by Wright, Susan

Genres: Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

See also S.L. Wright

Susan Wright is a USA Today Bestselling author of more than two dozen published novels and nonfiction books. She writes Speculative fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction and Star Trek novels, and has been published by Pocket Books, Penguin Group, and St. Martin’s Press.

Reviews

[Jaimie]

The subtitle of this art-filled biography of Georgia O’Keeffe is one that suits her perfectly, as she is in effect an eternal spirit who represents American art from the 20th century in the best regard, as well as fills her viewers with the most spirited of emotions. This particular volume may be slim, in comparison to some of the larger volumes that I’ve managed to collect over the years, but its impact is no less effectual. Susan Wright brings together her paintings in three roughly chronological sections which explore O’Keeffe’s early years in New York City, the florals that cemented her reputation as an artist of note, and finishes with a dramatic finale in the American southwest, where O’Keeffe spent the majority of her life and was the inspiration for her most impactful artwork. I personally love every era of O’Keeffe, from her emotionally charged nighttime sky-scapes of NYC to her riotous macroflorals and, of course, finding familiar visuals in her desert bones, so I was heartened to see Wright give relatively equal credence to her entire lifespan and bring together artworks that reside in collections around the world. Her narration was also joyful to read, being slightly simplified compared to the exhibition catalogue that remains my top O’Keeffe retrospective, and yet still chalk full of factual information that painted a reasonable sketch of the artist as a human being and placed her career accurately against her lifetime. If more art books could take this tone, which balances perfectly curated (and printed) imagery alongside just the right amount of historical storytelling, I feel like far more people would delve into these books and explore art that they may not be able to visit in real life otherwise.

[Kayoc]

Very well written. Especially enjoyed seeing paintings not usually shown for O'Keeffe.

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp]

Yet another view of the interior life of G.O’K.
I am fascinated/obsessed with her, her life, her letters, her art. Now sending me down the path of Arthur Dove.

[Rox Moffett]

https://rbr4u.weebly.com/reviews/geor...

Hello, my beautiful bees. It's Rachel here and it's time for another book review. Before we really dive in, I'll preface this with letting y'all know that it's an art biography and it's the first of it's kind that I've ever read.

So when I go to my college library it's usually to study in a quiet environment. The desk that I usually sit at has a beautiful view of the woods and man made stream that passes the outside of the library. Right behind my usual spot is the art book section. I've always loved art but I've never studied it, its history, or know much about artists in general besides what you typically learn about in school. So I decided I was going to read the first art book on the shelf behind me, and Georgia O'Keeffe: An Eternal Spirit by Susan Wright was the lucky winner!

I also want to preface by saying that I am in no way an art critic or an expert in this field at all. These views are simply from an art loving (aka someone who likes any kind of art that she sees that she can vibe with) book worm.

ART!!!! I love looking at it. I got to see some amazing, beautiful, and inspiring art work of Georgia O'Keeffe printed in the book. Her art visually spanned from abstract, flowers, New York, and southwestern scenes. My favorites were definitely her abstracts, sky scenes, and flowers. I enjoyed the back stories and learning about her journey through life and then subsequently looking at the art that correlated with that part of her journey.

The book is separated by the stages of O'Keeffe's art journey/life journey, which I really appreciated. It was cool to see which pieces of art correlated with whatever she was going through or the area that she was living at during that time. The book also discusses her relationship with her husband, who was a photographer and had his own art studio (spoiler alert: her art debuted in his art studio and their relationship continued slowly from there).

It was honestly an educational experience and a fun introduction to a new genre that I had never previously delved into before. I definitely want to read another book from this genre next semester. Maybe I'll grab the second book from that shelf and see what I come across.

Overall, Georgia O'Keeffe: An Eternal Spirit was an easy read, and I give it 5/5 stars. If you are a creative or enjoy the arts, or simply want to explore a new genre and educate yourself on a little known artist, this book is definitely for you. Give it a try!!!

[Ursula Shelton]

This was a delightful book about Ms. O'Keeffe. It offered details of her life, her teaching in different regions of the U.S. and most of all her art work. Although I have not seen all of her work I really liked the Oriental Poppies and all of the big bold prints that she used so frequently. There were a few that I did not like, but I still feel that she was ahead of here time and a great artist. I would definitely recommend this book to family members and friends.

[Teddy Farias]

loved it. great collection of 70+ pix of her pieces & photos from her husband.