Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

Well written book and excellent research. Enjoyed very much.

Detailed and thoughtful, and a riveting read if you really want to understand this artist's life. After reading dozens of books and articles about O'Keeffe during the course of my own research on New York-inspired artwork, I didn't think another O'Keeffe biography was necessary. But I'm grateful I found this book. I learned so much more about this artist--about her friendships, her travels beyond New York and the Southwest, and her abstract works.

I never really liked O'Keeffe's more abstract paintings until I read this biography. Now I can look at them with an improved understanding of what they mean and what she managed to accomplish for female artists everywhere. It's equally nice to see the artist as a person with her own foibles and nuances. The author has done a remarkable job here.

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is a sound writer, one who obviously does her research inexhaustibly, and with a background in art criticism she also speaks with authority and an informed eye. But she does go on.... For those who want to know more about the idiosyncrasies of this American idol then this is the resource of choice. We learn more about the frustrations, self doubt, love affairs, and general personality quirks than in all the other biographies combined. We also learn about each painting in depth which I suppose is like a verbal catalogue raissonne and for that we should be thankful. It is just that with all great artists not everything they make is of show quality and it is this inclusion of all of the odds and major ends of O'Keeffe's work that borders on tiresome. It is with a good degree of relief that the last page of this nearly 500-page opus is reached. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp obviously holds Georgia O'Keeffe in a realm close to Valhalla and that is all well and good. She writes with vigor and determination and certainly informs us of the 'full bloom' of her title. In the end this is a valuable volume for the archives, but not a book to recommend for the casual reader who has already grown visually fatigued with the Santa Fe posters of poppies, ox skulls, and datura flowers. Grady Harp, June 05

Georgia O'Keeffe has had numerous books written about her, focusing on both her art and her life; but few have the impact and narrowed focus of Full Bloom: The Art And Life Of Georgia O'Keeffe, discussing the passionate physical and artistic relationship of O'Keeffe and art photographer Alfred Stieglitz. O'Keeffe's works, letters, and dozens of interviews blend with Drohojowska-Philip's unique opportunity as the first biographer to have access to the complete catalogue of O'Keeffe's works as well as access to Dorothy Norman. The result is a biography with more depth than most.