1887-1986. US painter, based mainly in New
York and New Mexico, known for her large,
semi-abstract studies of flowers and skulls.
Her mature style stressed contours and subtle
tonal transitions, and in paintings such as
Black Iris 1926 (Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York) the subject is transformed into a
powerful and erotic abstract image. In 1946
she settled in New Mexico, where the desert
landscape inspired many of her paintings. She
was married (1924-46) to photographer and art
exhibitor Alfred Stieglitz, in whose gallery
her work was first shown.