Portrait--W--No. II
Artist
Georgia O'Keeffe
(American, 1887 - 1986)
Date1917
MediumWatercolor on paper
DimensionsUnframed: 11 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches (29.85 x 21.91 cm)
Framed: 20 5/8 x 17 3/8 inches (52.39 x 44.13 cm)
Framed: 20 5/8 x 17 3/8 inches (52.39 x 44.13 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. C. Humbert Tinsman Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. James E. C. Tinsman in memory of C. Humbert and Julia Tinsman
Object number2002.12.7
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis small abstract watercolor features a variety of forms. The most prominent is a black organic shape that runs vertically from the top of the composition to the bottom. It is offset by a few brighter colors, including yellow and red on either side.Gallery LabelPainted in Canyon, Texas, early in Georgia O'Keeffe's legendary career, Portrait: W No. II represents her pioneering experiments in abstraction. Taking cues from various influences, including the philosophical writings by German artist Wassily Kandinsky, O'Keeffe painted this "portrait" broadly and intuitively in order to achieve a poetic evocation of her subject rather than a literal depiction. O'Keeffe's application of watercolor was particularly wet so that the halo effects of dried passages serve as organic forms in the composition. The artist revealed in personal correspondence that she had painted the unconventional portrait from an actual sitter, but she could not recall the man's name.
Copyright© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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