A canvas drenched in sunset hues, colors radiating like flame. At first glance, this painting may appear  to be an impossible, abstract image. But a closer look reveals  the tender stems, lush petals and velvety texture  of a Canna Lily. This metamorphosis of natural subjects into abstract geometry is commonplace in the work  of Georgia O’Keeffe— the revolutionary American painter  and sculptor. But the magic behind  this transformation remains just as elusive as the artist herself. Born in Wisconsin in 1887, O’Keeffe spent her childhood plucking wildflowers and arranging fruits to paint. At seventeen, she moved to Chicago  to study at the prestigious Art Institute. Her teachers trained her  to faithfully reproduce reality in the conventions of European masters. Although she enjoyed the solitude  and precision of this work, O’Keeffe felt little  personal connection to it. After moving to New York, she was  increasingly drawn to the clean lines, striking composition and vivid colors  of Japanese art. O’Keeffe soon found a teacher  whose lessons inspired her to put those interests into practice. Unlike her previous teachers, Arthur Wesley Dow urged his students to focus on more abstract representations of light, shape, and color. These lessons manifested in O’Keeffe’s first series of abstract drawings. Rendered in charcoal, they present  a series of undulating lines, bold shading and billowing clouds. These drawings defy easy classification— suggesting, but never quite matching, any specific natural reference. Earlier European painters  in the Cubist tradition had employed rigid geometry to abstract external subjects. But here, O’Keeffe employed  the shapes and rhythms of nature to capture her internal feelings. Experiments like these  would soon become a cornerstone of an artistic movement  called American Modernism. Although no single style defines  Modernist painting, its proponents shared a desire  to challenge the realist traditions that dominated art education. Beginning in the late 1910’s,  Modernist painting often used geometric shapes  and bold colors to probe the American psyche. O’Keeffe threw herself  into these experiments — but she was reluctant  to share her new work. However, when a friend sent her charcoals to the art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, he became entranced. In 1916, he arranged  for a grand exhibition in New York. This marked the beginning of O’Keeffe’s career as a popular artist— and a relationship that would lead  to marriage in 1924. Marriage didn’t diminish O’Keeffe’s taste for solitude. She travelled widely to teach, and often retreated to paint  for months at a time. Whether she was exploring  the craggy canyons of Texas, the quiet forests of South Carolina,  or the sun-bleached desert of New Mexico, her creative process was based on  ritual and close observation. She paid meticulous attention  to small details, and spent hours mixing paints  to create exactly the right colors. When she found the perfect hue, she’d record it in her ever-growing collection of handmade color cards. O’Keeffe also experimented  with perspective to celebrate objects that were often overlooked. In "Rams Head with Hollyhock," she places a weathered skull  and a delicate flower high above the hills below. This massive skull overshadows  the landscape, casting both the skeleton  and the mountains in a new, eerie light. The public was captivated by her  unique perspective and secretive behavior. She was particularly praised  for her massive flower paintings, ranging from fiery poppies  to ghostly calla lillies. Stieglitz and other critics of the time  were infatuated by Freudian psychology, and were quick to link these paintings to female genitalia. But O’Keeffe dismissed  such interpretations. She resented the male gaze  that dominated the art world, and demanded her work be respected for its emotional evocation  of the natural world. Eventually, O’Keeffe settled down  in New Mexico, near one of her favorite artist retreats. In her 70’s, her eyesight began to fail, but she continued to mine the landscape’s mysteries in new, tactile mediums. O’Keeffe kept creating  until her death at 98, and is remembered as  the “Mother of American Modernism.” Decades on, her work retains  its wild energy— and O’Keeffe her personal mystique.