The single review of value to me is that of Zoe of Denmark. Perhaps because like me, she is female, and who knows if the timing of her reading did not, like mine, coincide with a particular period in her own life. It is the only review that speaks of the emotion of Georgia O'Keeffe, which is the heart of the book for this reader. What lies around it -- an extremely important and intense few years in the evolution of American art , the characters who inhabited them, their stories, even the logistics of locations and dates, which generally I skip, held my attention wholly. The details I would glance over in a lesser work, I drank like champagne in this one, because I am in love with this book. It is a landmark in my long life of good reading.
For anyone interested in the dynamics of love relationships,this is a cornucopia. we are offered excerpts of letters, conversations, essays, and Ms Robinson's own perspectives, tying it all together, which is not only appropriate but the bouquet. Anyone who can take on this kind of project has my complete trust in matters of the heart and mind. So many have nearly drowned in the flowing red rivers of love betrayed, lost, neglected, abandoned... and sometimes redeemed. To illustrate, an excerpt from a letter by O'K to her close friend Jean Toomer, after a particularly painful episode with her husband Alfred Steiglitz : "If the past year has taught me anything it is that my plot of earth must be tended with absurd care -- By myself first -- and if second by someone else, it must be with absolute trust -- their thinking carefully and knowing what they do -- It seems it would be very difficult for me to live if it were wrecked again." The author goes on to say that "through the submergence of her (O'K's) emotional needs, she had come "terrifyingly close to the loss of her sanity." I believe it.
Redemption comes in the choices O'Keeffe makes to "absurdly care for" her plot of earth, not only for herself but for her marriage as well. That she should have gradually removed herself from society, especially after the death of Steiglitz ... well, if there are artists of a particular nature, or of a certain age, or simply of a certain nature, reading this, it is, as we say, a no-brainer.
This biography is to be read with the heart and not only the mind. There is treasure in every exquisitely chosen word and impression.To a point where I, who generally rush to the photographs and illustrations in a biography, forgot to be disappointed in their small number and poor quality; easily forgiven,I can find them elsewhere. Thank you, Roxana Robinson, for this amazing work of immensity.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the authors
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2012
- Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2025
- Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2017
