Georgia by Dawn Tripp –336 pages
Book Blurb:
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.
My Review: 4.5 stars
Georgia is a novel that read like poetry. Author Dawn Tripp has done a phenomenal job at revisiting both Georgia O’Keeffe and later her spouse Alfred Stieglitz before the start of her burgeoning career.
It seems to me that Georgia was quite misunderstood in what her art represented and truly; she saw life through an artist’s lens. Her lack of makeup, demure dress and simple ways, was an absolute foil to her boldness, sharpness and colorful art. Her art grew in the landscapes and passions of her life.
After reading and enjoying both the The Marriage of Opposites about Camille Pissarro and The Bridal Chair about Marc Chagall, I welcomed the opportunity to read about one of this American woman who is now called, “the mother of American Modernism”.
Any book that leads me to hours of follow up on the computer looking at both O’Keeffe’s art and Stieglitz’s photographs is worth the read. This was a beautiful reimagining of their conversations, her humble beginnings and life in general.
Quotes I liked:
A life is built of lies and magic, illusions bedded down with dreams. And in the end what haunts us most is the recollection of what we failed to see.”
-“He did not give me greatness, but his faith in my early work gave me the space to achieve it.”
-“I love every minute of you, every expression on that face, every mood, shadow, inch.”
-“There is always a place for a child where there is love.”
-“…that seems almost worse, to be with someone and feel so lonely, that’s almost worse than being alone.”
– “I like trees very much because they don’t move or talk back.”
– “It does not matter that I once threw myself into him like water into water.”
Congratulations on family milestones. Nice to have you back.
For the book club I run in Colorado, I decided to do the summer of Extraordinary Women.
(Seems appropriate for the times). June: The Nightingale, July: Georgia
August: Loving Eleanor
I think all of these books will lend themselves to great conversations!
Thanks Sylvia! Great titles you’ve chosen! Let me know how they all go!