Modernist Genius in the Light of the Reception of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Work

Abstract

Summary The text analyzes the discourse on modernist genius functioning within the critical reception of the works of an American abstract painter Georgia O’Keeffe in the 1910s and 1920s. The aim is to reflect on how the understanding of O’Keeffe as an atypical artist in the masculinized reality of her time influenced the views on the ideal of genius articulated by art critics during the discussed period. The text also aims to revise some concepts regarding the painter’s presence in the artistic world and the position of her artwork therein.