Georgia on My Mind

Georgia O'Keeffe was born on this day in 1887.

When Georgia O'Keeffe was growing up, most girls learned embroidery and other sorts of artwork that help decorate a house. Some girls became art teachers. But very few girls were encouraged to try to make their living as artists! O'Keeffe didn't see things that way at all. She started taking art lessons, and when she was twelve years old, she decided to become an artist.

Learn more about this extraordinary artist by visiting our children's web site Bottlecaps to Brushes or by ordering the book at our online shop.

Source: Lynn-Steven Engelke.Bottlecaps to Brushes: Art Activities for Kids From the National Museum of American Art (Washington, DC: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1995).

Pictured: Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887–1986, Only One, 1959, oil, 36 x 30 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.