Georgia O'Keeffe 1919 - 1920

This evocative photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe was captured by Alfred Stieglitz, and you can find it at The Art Institute of Chicago. Stieglitz’s approach to photography feels almost like painting with light, a delicate dance of shadows and highlights, and the process isn't concealed, it's celebrated. The textures in this photograph are so subtle, it's like feeling a memory. The soft gradations of light across O’Keeffe's skin, the way the darkness cradles her form – it’s all about the physicality of seeing. Those hands reaching up, they're not just hands, right? They're reaching for something, grasping at an idea, an emotion, a future. There's a vulnerability there, a quiet strength. Stieglitz had such an influence on photography. You can think of artists like Edward Weston, who also explored the human form with a similar intensity, but Stieglitz was the first. Art, at its best, embraces that ambiguity, allowing for endless interpretations and personal connections.