ABSTRACT
To Europeans visiting America in the early decades of the twentieth century, New York was the undisputed center of modernity and the skyscraper its most telling emblem. Although these architectural wonders formed the very core of the city’s identity, they were regarded as in the medium of painting. American artists who relied on the conventions of European modernism to capture the spirit and energy of the city had not done it justice as a physical presence and national icon. As Anna Chave points out, the task fell to Georgia O’Keeffe, an artist prized for her independence from these foreign influences, to capture the overwhelming power and visual splendor of the city’s architecture.
According to Chave, O’Keejfe’s attainment also derived from her personal circumstances, as she was the first artist to actually reside in a skyscraper and thus experience with regularity the unique aspects of life atop an urban mountain. Her views of buildings such as the Shelton Hotel, with uncomplicated silhouettes that accentuate their sturdy form and imposing height, possess a clarity and directness that underscored the city’s iconic status. Long before abstract expressionism was hailed as the quintessential expression of modern urban angst, and therefore credited with reorienting the sphere of cultural influence from Paris to New York, Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings of New York skyscrapers fashioned a compelling image of the American city thought to embody the very essence of urban modernity.
