Georgia O'Keeffe 1918

Alfred Stieglitz made this gelatin silver print, a portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe. Her gaze is direct, intense, and there’s this swirling vortex in the background. I mean, what was it like to be her? As an artist, as a woman? Stieglitz, a champion of modern art, saw something special in her, something worth capturing, again, and again. The tones here are soft, almost velvety. I wonder if she was even aware of the camera, or if she was just lost in thought. You can see the subtle gradations of light and shadow on her face. It makes you think about how the light changes everything, transforms a face into a landscape of emotions. You sense a kinship between them. Like they were trying to reveal something essential about each other.