Roxana Robinson on Georgia O'Keeffe, Mother of American Modernist Painting

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Ark Prof. Albert Cheng and MassPotential’s Mary Tamer speak with Roxana Robinson to honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe, the pioneering artist often called the “Mother of American Modernism.” Drawing from Robinson’s 1989 biography Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life, she traces O’Keeffe’s life from the farmlands of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin to the bustling cultural landscape of early 20th-century New York City and to North Central New Mexico. The artist’s reverence for natural landscapes, color, and light was shaped by her rural Midwestern upbringing and formal artistic training in Virginia. Robinson explains how O’Keeffe’s stark transition to city life is reflected in her artwork, which often explores the line between modernism and traditional landscape painting. O’Keeffe’s personal and professional relationship with celebrated photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz marked another major turning point in her life and career. While Stieglitz championed her artistic talent, O’Keeffe also became the subject of more than 350 of his photographic portraits—some sparking public acclaim and controversy, while also helping shape her carefully constructed public image. Ms. Robinson further explores O’Keeffe’s most famous works including Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue and Ram’s Head, White Hollyhock – Hills, as well as her large-scale, magnified floral paintings, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 and Red Canna. From O’Keeffe’s early abstract experiments to her late-life desert visions, Robinson shares how the artist’s expansive body of work reshaped American art and left a legacy that continues to inspire artists, scholars, and students in the 21st century. She closes with a reading from her book Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life.

Stories of the Week: Mary highlights an article from CNN on how Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Los Angeles schools, is on paid leave after FBI searches of his home and office. Albert shares a story from EducationNext about a new documentary chronicling the life of Dr. Howard Fuller—leader, activist, and champion of school choice.

Guest:

Roxana Robinson is the author of eleven books — seven novels, three collections of short stories, and the biography Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life. Her 2008 novel Cost was named one of the Five Best Novels of the Year by The Washington Post. Four of Robinson’s books were chosen as New York Times Notable Books, three as New York Times Editors’ Choices. Her books have been published in England, France, Germany, Holland, and Spain, and her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Best American Short Stories, The Southampton Review, and elsewhere. Robinson’s work has been widely anthologized and broadcast on NPR and other media outlets. She received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Michigan.