Georgia O'Keeffe was born in 1887, beginning the life of one of the most influential American modernist artists.
She was born on November 15, 1887, near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to Francis Calyxtus O'Keeffe and Ida Totto O'Keeffe. Her parents operated a dairy farm, and she was the second of seven children.
O'Keeffe showed artistic ability early and received drawing instruction during childhood. She later studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League of New York before developing an increasingly personal, abstract style.
The year 1887 is sometimes confused with 1888 because biographies may emphasize different milestones in her early education, but her birth date is consistently recorded as November 15, 1887. She lived until 1986, making her career span nearly eight decades of American art.