Inside Georgia O'Keeffe's Tortured Love Life That Was Kept Out Of The Press

Would the American Southwest be as famous for its rugged desert landscapes if not for Georgia O'Keeffe? The painter became enamored with that subject once she moved west, and this obsession is etched into her large body of work. However, art was far from her only obsession. Most people aren’t aware of the bizarre and tragic romances that consumed most of her life. Some relationships ended in shambles, while others are disputed to this very day.

Mother of modernism

Georgia is an artist with international acclaim. Her work is so impactful that she’s known as the “Mother of American Modernism,” since she helped launch the movement. Her paintings of flowers and desert scenery are Americana icons, showing the nation’s beauty. But by the time she found success, she was already heartbroken.

Do it our way

She went to school at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York and detested the restrictions on artistic techniques taught by her instructors. Georgia wanted to be more interpretive with what she saw, not replicative. Her professors weren’t fans of this mindset, but O'Keeffe would find one influential supporter.

Doing it herself

In the early 1900s, Georgia left college and chaired the art department at West Texas State Normal College instead. She used watercolors to capture sunrises and sunsets at a local canyon, creating a bold, shapely style that caught New York gallery owner, art promoter, and photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s attention. 

Trouble brewing

Alfred was 52 and married, while Georgia was only 28. He was obsessed with both her paintings and the artist, herself. While he was still married, he asked Georgia to pose for his camera — nude. She agreed. She’d appear in more than 300 nude photos, which caused plenty of gossip in the New York art community.