“Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O’Keeffe”

Welcome to Museum Reads, the Newport Art Museum’s Art-Themed book group for adults. We meet monthly, at the Museum and virtually, for discussion, and frequently are joined by the author.

In conjunction with the upcoming exhibition of works by Georgia O’Keeffe at the Museum, we diving into this rich biography. 

Georgia O’Keeffe, one of the most original painters America has ever produced, left behind a remarkable legacy when she died at the age of ninety-eight. Her vivid visual vocabulary–sensuous flowers, bleached bones against red sky and earth–had a stunning, profound, and lasting influence on American art.

O’Keeffe’s personal mystique is as intriguing and enduring as her bold, brilliant canvases. Here is the first full account of her exceptional life– from her girlhood and early days as a controversial art teacher, to her discovery by the pioneering photographer of the New York avant-garde, Alfred Stieglitz, to her seclusion in the New Mexico desert, where she lived until her death.

And here is the story of a great romance between the extraordinary painter and her much older mentor, lover, and husband, Alfred Stieglitz. Renowned for her fierce independence, iron determination, and unique artistic vision, Georgia O’Keeffe is a twentieth-century legend who career spanned the history of modern art in America. 

Museum Reads Notes:
Be sure to register to receive email updates and Zoom links.
For last minute registrations, please call the front desk for the Zoom link at 401-848-8200.

Laurie Lisle began her professional career as a journalist before turning to biographies. Her best-selling biography of O’Keeffe, Portrait of an Artist, which was first published in 1980, has been translated into six languages. Available as a hyperlinked ebook with photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, it is included in Five Hundred Great Books by Women. She has also written on artist Louise Nevelson, as well as on a variety of other topics. Her forthcoming book is a memoir, Word for Word: A Writer’s Life. Laurie lives in the village of Sharon, Connecticut, along with her husband, artist Robert Kipniss. When she is not writing or reading, she is hiking or working in her flower garden.