Georgia O’Keeffe‘s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” 1932 oil on canvas 48 x 40 inches just sold at auction for $44,405,000, which is a record for a female artist. (I look at this painting a LOT as it is the cover of a huge book of O’Keeffe’s work that sits next to my bed.) I saw this posted first on a friend’s Facebook wall. My friend is a female artist herself and was dismayed, to say the least, that the fact the this was reported as a record for a “female” artist. She felt the distinction was unnecessary. I posted something to the effect that O’Keefe IS a “female” artist, as well as “dead” one, and these were merely attributes of the artist. I was chastised and told that I shouldn’t decide what offends someone else. True that. But nevertheless, you can’t have it both ways. Female artists (as well as critics like Jerry Saltz and others of both genders) often complain that female artists are given second-class citizenship in the art world (it’s often true in the “real” world, so it’s not really surprising…) Art advisor, Todd Levin, also posted this pic and was excited about the record. (He also speculated that it MIGHT have been won by Alice Walton, of the Walmart billions and if so, the public will end up seeing it at her Crystal Bridges Museum.) Personally, I love O’Keeffe, and it has nothing to do with gender, so this is exciting news to me. Tweet and post this yourself, if you like, and see what others think about this news. Discuss.
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