Which university did Georgia O'Keeffe attend in New York before becoming a major artist?

Georgia O'Keeffe attended Columbia University in New York for art instruction before becoming a major artist.

She studied at Columbia's Teachers College under Arthur Wesley Dow during the summers of 1914 and 1915. Dow's approach emphasized design, composition, and personal expression rather than simply copying what the eye saw. Those ideas helped O'Keeffe move toward abstraction.

Her formal education had already included the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York. She did not follow a single uninterrupted university degree path; instead, she combined art-school study with teaching and summer courses.

This detail is often confused with her later teaching career. O'Keeffe taught in Texas and South Carolina, while her Columbia study occurred earlier and was especially important because of Dow's influence. Her response to Dow's principles helped her develop a visual language based on simplified forms and strong compositions.