Groundbreaking Modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) rejected artistic norms to express her own unique vision. Known for the flower paintings which encompass a quarter of her work, O’Keeffe was originally inspired by nature during her childhood in rural Wisconsin. Shunning her artistic education in favor of expressing her emotions, O’Keeffe enlarged flowers until they became abstract artforms whose sheer size commanded attention. An innovator who profoundly impacted 20th century art, O’Keeffe was the first woman honored with her own exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis that we get at the real meaning of things. - Georgia O'Keeffe