Georgia O'Keeffe

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- Geogia O'Keeffe, an artist long associated with the Southwest died on Thursday (March 6), at the age of 98. Her body was cremated her ashes were scattered in a private ceremony on Pedernal Mountain, south of Santa Fe, New Mexico. O'Keeffe was born November 15, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. In 1905, Georgia began art studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she was the recipient of top honors during her first year. In September of 1907, she continued her studies at New York's Art Student League. In 1912, Georgia took a teaching job at the Chatham Episcopal Institute. After years of teaching and having almost no time for herself, she decided it was time to paint again. What resulted was a series of charcoal drawings she sent to her friend in New York, Anita Pollitzer. Against Georgia's wishes, she showed them to Alfred Stieglitz, famous photographer and owner of Gallery 291. He decided to show her drawings without her permission. When she found out, she traveled to New York to confront him but he convinced her to keep them on display. In 1923, Stieglitz held a major exhibit of O'Keeffe's work at the Anderson Galleries, the first of many of her showings. The following year, Stieglitz and his wife of 31 years divorced and he quickly asked Georgia to marry him. That same year marked the first time O'Keeffe painted a large, magnified flower which she would become famous for. Stieglitz and O'Keeffe moved to the Shelton Hotel in New York and lived there for the next 12 years where Georgia would be inspired to paint the magnificent views from their 30th floor apartment. But three years later, she felt the need to travel and took a trip to New Mexico which would change her life for good. Georgia returned to New Mexico every summer until 1946, when her husband died. Only then did she decide to move from New York and permanently reside in New Mexico, calling it "her land." O'Keeffe was not survived by any immediate family members. The Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe has more than half of her work in their collection. Much of it can be seen on their web site.