Georgia O’Keeffe, known for her suggestive portrayals of flowers, is considered an icon of 20th-century American art. She was also the first American woman to achieve a level of professional recognition equal to male artists. However, unlike Jackson Pollock or Andy Warhol, her work has been not been exhibited widely outside the United States. Her last show in London, at the Hayward Gallery, was 23 years ago. For this reason alone, the retrospective of 100 works opening at Tate Modern next month marks a significant opportunity. If O’Keeffe’s paintings are unfamiliar in Britain, however, her life is even less known.
O’Keeffe is revered today for her independent spirit, but she could not have had such a career, unprecedented for a woman of her time, without