Bare Tree Trunks with Snow 1946

Georgia O'Keeffe made this painting of bare tree trunks with snow, we don't know when and with what, but I get the sense it was a close, iterative process. The creamy, muted palette and soft gradations give the trunks a fleshy, almost sensual quality. See how she teases out the forms? It’s hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. I find myself drawn to that small area of raw sienna at the base of the rightmost trunk. It’s a detail that gives the painting an unexpected warmth. In fact, the painting is full of subtle coloristic touches which animate the surfaces. The way O’Keeffe crops the image, cropping the trees so that they loom in front of us, gives the painting an unnerving sense of intimacy. It reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley’s landscapes, but with a distinctly feminine touch. I love the way that the forms embrace ambiguity, suggesting multiple readings.