Who was Georgia O'Keeffe's teacher at the Art Students League?
Answer
William Merritt Chase
Answer
William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase was Georgia O'Keeffe's teacher at the Art Students League.
O'Keeffe studied with Chase in New York in 1907. Chase was a prominent American painter and teacher known for portraits, still lifes, and vigorous brushwork. His instruction represented the academic, observational tradition that O'Keeffe initially pursued.
During her time at the league, O'Keeffe received a scholarship for her still life No. 3. That recognition confirms how capable she was within conventional art-school training, even though she later moved toward a much more personal modernist language.
Chase should not be confused with Arthur Wesley Dow, whose principles O'Keeffe encountered later at Teachers College. Dow emphasized design, composition, and the expressive organization of visual elements; those ideas helped redirect O'Keeffe's artistic development.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026