Of
Irish,
Dutch and
German decent, O'Keeffe was a
handsome woman even in her teens. She went by the name
Patsy, and with her huge flashy black eyes, made the usual rounds with the
professors at universities where
painting was taught.
She was romantically linked with the famous photographer, Alfred Stieglitz for many years, though they never married due to his unfortunate affair with a younger student.
O'Keeffe became well known for her, how can I say this, flower paintings? where she made them lush and juicy looking as say a part of the female anatomy. Also, her landscapes of New Mexico are breathtaking and this is where O'Keeffe spent most of the second half of her life.
Ms. O'Keeffe lived to be in her nineties, perhaps this is due to the twenty-something-year-old gigolo she took on in her late seventies?
After looking at her Poppy series, it is no wonder she is acclaimed as being the most accomplished female artist of the twentieth century.