What was Georgia O'Keeffe's first teaching position in Texas?

Georgia O'Keeffe's first teaching position in Texas was at West Texas State Normal College. She taught art there in Canyon, Texas, from 1916 to 1918.

The college later became West Texas State University and is now West Texas A&M University. During her time in Canyon, O'Keeffe developed a body of abstract charcoal drawings that marked a major break from the conventional art exercises she had been teaching.

Her Texas years were crucial because they helped her formulate a personal visual language based on simplified shapes, lines, and emotional responses rather than direct illustration. Some of those drawings were sent to New York and brought to Alfred Stieglitz's attention.

O'Keeffe later taught at the University of Virginia and worked at the University of South Carolina. The institution's changing name can cause confusion, but West Texas State Normal College is the name associated with her first Texas teaching post.