Georgia O'Keeffe

4 6.0

An American painter known for large paintings of flowers and New Mexico landscapes

proper noun
/ˈdʒɔrdʒə oʊˈkiːf/

: Georgia O'Keeffe

Many consider Georgia O'Keeffe to be the 'Mother of American modernism'.

Examples

The landscape of New Mexico inspired much of Georgia O'Keeffe's later work.
A new exhibition features rare paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe that have never been seen publicly before.
Look at Georgia O'Keeffe!
What a talent Georgia O'Keeffe is!
A new exhibition features rare paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe that have never been seen publicly before.
Many consider Georgia O'Keeffe to be the 'Mother of American modernism'.
The landscape of New Mexico inspired much of Georgia O'Keeffe's later work.

Surface Forms

Georgia O'Keeffe main

Morphology

Georgia + O'Keeffe

This is a proper name referring to a specific person; knowing the constituents 'Georgia' and 'O'Keeffe' does not allow a learner to infer the person’s identity, dates, or occupation. Proper names are arbitrary labels without compositional meaning, so the fact that this MWE names an American painter is unpredictable from its parts and thus opaque to learners.

Etymology

Georgia O'Keeffe is the name of an American 'painter' famous for very large, close-up paintings of flowers and for bold views of the New Mexico desert, where small details can fill the whole painting. That's why her name now brings to mind strong, modern pictures of nature and why people call her the 'Mother of American modernism'.