Georgia O’Keeffe
Painter, November 15, 1887-Mach 6, 1986
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was born in a farmhouse on a large dairy farm outside of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. By the age of 16, Georgia had 5 years of private art lessons at various schools in Wisconsin and Virginia. In 1902 her parents moved to Virginia and were joined by the children in 1903. Georgia managed to stay behind so she could graduate from Central High School. Her aunt Leonore Totto, a teacher, lived at 910 Spaight Street in 1904.
After receiving her diploma in 1905, she for left Chicago to live with an aunt and attend the Art Institute of Chicago. She did not return to the Institute the following year after a bout with typhoid fever. Instead, in 1907 she enrolled at the Art Student League in New York City.
Georgia O'Keeffe died March 6, 1986, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Governor Warren Knowles and Artist Georgia O'Keeffe at the presentation of the Wisconsin Governor's Award for Creativity in the Arts. (WHS Image ID 115812)