Georgia O'Keeffe 1924 - 1927

This is a photograph of Georgia O’Keeffe, by Alfred Stieglitz. Look at the subtle tonal gradations, the way Stieglitz coaxes so much information from such a tight palette. His method feels like a process of intuitive refinement, in which each element gains clarity through the patient layering of shades and textures. It’s all about surface here - the sheen of O’Keeffe's dark garment, the chalky pallor of the pillar to the left, the almost velvety darkness of the background. Look at the way the light glances off O’Keeffe’s brow, casting a shadow over her eye. This small area seems to contain all the complexity of her gaze, her intelligence, her quiet strength. Stieglitz’s photographs of O’Keeffe remind me of Gerhard Richter’s portraits of his wife, Sabine. Both bodies of work are intimate and revealing, but also strangely remote, as though the artists are searching for something just beyond the surface of their subjects. Perhaps they were searching for themselves? Art at its best is always an invitation to question, to feel, to see the world anew.