Most other female artists worked in Europe or were unknown to Georgia O’Keefe,
with the exception of wealthy Florine Stettheimerand and a few others. Florine was sixteen years older than Georgia and the two virtually had nothing in common with each other.
Dainty and demure, with dark bangs, a large nose and closely spaced eyes, Florine was a maiden lady who affected bohemianism. She wore white satin trousers and went in for an ultra-feminine decor of white lace, crystal blossoms, gilt fringe and cellophane curtains. Too shy to show her fanciful, satirical, move-naive paintings in public, she used to unveil each new one before a small admiring cult. She liked to entertain frequently.
A watercolor one of those evenings by Carl Sprinchorn, the Three Stettheimer Sisters and Some friends, shows Georgia in a black turban, her arms folded across her chest, a watchful look on her face.
A Biography of Georgia O’Keeffe by Laurie Lisle p. 161
Among the many talents of artist Florine Stettheimer (1871–1944) was her gift for cultivating an elite artists circle of American culture. At the height of the Jazz Age, during the 1920s and 30s, she drew the brightest stars into the warm glow of her friendship and documented some of these gatherings in her vivid and charming paintings. Filled with historical references and biographical clues about her subjects and herself, the rich life Florine led both in and out of the studio was reflected in the wide range of people in her artwork. (from the Jewish Museum)
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