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A review by kevin_shepherd
Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe by Laurie Lisle
4.0
O’Keeffe was the consummate “artist” and any characterization could easily have been stiff and stereotypical, but not here. Lisle, more often than not, was able to pry open that guarded, introverted, almost misanthropic oyster that was Georgia O’Keeffe and gift us all with a fleeting glimpse of the pearl inside.
As a biographer, Laurie Lisle can be informative, enlightening, and engaging—though almost never all at the same time. Her composition, as good as it is, left me with half as many questions as answers. The ending, for example, was strangely abrupt; it concluded with, almost literally, “…and then Georgia died. The End.” There was no introspection, no reflection, and very little room for remorse. I had the sense that this biographical endeavor had taken an exhausting toll on her and she was anxious to put it behind her. That’s all speculation on my part, of course, but there is no sense of closure here. ‘Portrait of an Artist’ ends where Georgia O’Keeffe ends—concluded but oddly unresolved.
Original review written August 3, 2022
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Update: October 20, 2022
It turns out that this biography was originally published during Georgia O’Keeffe’s lifetime. An “updated edition” (reviewed above) was released after the artist passed away with add-on material that may or may not have been written by the author. This explains the oddly abrupt final chapter and why, in the interest of fairness, I have bumped up my rating to four stars.
As a biographer, Laurie Lisle can be informative, enlightening, and engaging—though almost never all at the same time. Her composition, as good as it is, left me with half as many questions as answers. The ending, for example, was strangely abrupt; it concluded with, almost literally, “…and then Georgia died. The End.” There was no introspection, no reflection, and very little room for remorse. I had the sense that this biographical endeavor had taken an exhausting toll on her and she was anxious to put it behind her. That’s all speculation on my part, of course, but there is no sense of closure here. ‘Portrait of an Artist’ ends where Georgia O’Keeffe ends—concluded but oddly unresolved.
Original review written August 3, 2022
________________________________________
Update: October 20, 2022
It turns out that this biography was originally published during Georgia O’Keeffe’s lifetime. An “updated edition” (reviewed above) was released after the artist passed away with add-on material that may or may not have been written by the author. This explains the oddly abrupt final chapter and why, in the interest of fairness, I have bumped up my rating to four stars.