Georgia O'Keeffe—Hands
1919/1920
Medium
palladium print
Dimensions
image: 23.2 x 18.2 cm (9 1/8 x 7 3/16 in.) sheet: 24.7 x 20.4 cm (9 3/4 x 8 1/16 in.) mat: 50.8 x 38.2 cm (20 x 15 1/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Alfred Stieglitz Collection
Accession Number
1980.70.137
Art Historical Context
Alfred Stieglitz's *Georgia O'KeeffeHands* (1919/1920) is an intimate palladium print portrait from his renowned series documenting his wife, the modernist painter Georgia O'Keeffe. Captured shortly after their 1918 marriage, this exemplifies Stieglitz's shift toward modernist photography, emphasizing form, texture, and emotional depth over pictorialist softness. As a pioneer in elevating photography to fine art, Stieglitz used these images to celebrate O'Keeffe not just as his muse, but as a powerful creative force, her hands symbolizing dexterity and artistic potential. The palladium print ...
About the Artist
Alfred Stieglitz · 1864–1946
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was a pioneering American photographer, art dealer, publisher, and advocate for the Modernist movement who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to German Jewish immigrant parents, Stieglitz spent his formative years studying mechanical engineering in Berlin, where he discovered photography in ...