Which 1916 art school employed Georgia O'Keeffe as head of its art department?

West Texas State Normal College employed Georgia O'Keeffe as head of its art department in 1916.

The school, now West Texas A&M University, was in Canyon, Texas. O'Keeffe taught there from 1916 to 1918, after earlier teaching positions in South Carolina and Virginia. Her time in Canyon exposed her to the broad, open landscape of the Texas Panhandle.

While working there, she continued developing the abstract language that had begun with her charcoal drawings. The experience was important because it combined teaching, independent experimentation, and direct engagement with the landscape.

The institution changed names several times over its history, which can cause confusion in references. O'Keeffe's employer is often identified by its name at the time, West Texas State Normal College, rather than by the university's modern name. She left in 1918 to move to New York and work more closely with Alfred Stieglitz.