Lake George inspired many Georgia O'Keeffe paintings before her move to New Mexico.
O'Keeffe spent periods at the Lake George property of Alfred Stieglitz's family in upstate New York. Between the 1910s and early 1930s, the region supplied her with subjects including leaves, trees, water, hills, and household objects.
The Lake George paintings show how O'Keeffe transformed familiar things into simplified, boldly colored forms. Some works are representational, while others approach abstraction through close cropping and unusual viewpoints.
Lake George is distinct from the New Mexico landscapes that later became central to her identity. O'Keeffe continued to paint the northeastern region for years, but her relationship with New Mexico grew after her first visits there in the late 1920s and eventually led to a permanent move.