from the community to encourage her resignation. One good reason was for what people called "radical views", which she had concerning the United States' entry into the war in Europe along with other rebel opinions that were shocking to the small Texas town. She was encouraged by Stieglitz to return to New York. By this time he had fallen in love with O'Keeffe and wanted to pursue a relationship. He being in an unhappy marriage, had moved out from the family home and into his studio. She boarded a train in June of 1918 to return to New York, Stieglitz, and to a new life that would make her into one of the most important artist of the century. Shortly after her arrival, Alfred took Georgia up to the Stieglitz family home at Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains. They would return to the lake home each summer for years to come. Georgia produced many paintings of the Lake George countryside during these years. Stieglitz was Georgia's most avid supporter. He arranging shows, and sold her paintings. Buying an "O'Keeffe" was not only expensive, but a collector needed to meet Stieglitz's somewhat hazy standards for owning one. By this time she was known only as "O'Keeffe" to the art world. She rarely signed a painting, but instead would sometimes print an "OK" on the back of the canvas. Alfred's wife divorced him in September 1924 and he began to press O'Keeffe into marriage. She was reluctant to do so since they had lived together since 1918 and had survived the scandal, seeing no reason to marry now. She finally gave in and they married late in December. During the long winter months in New York she began to paint her very large flowers, some of her most popular work today. She completed her first enormous flower painting in 1924. The giant flower paintings were first exhibited in 1925. A Calla Lily painting would sell for $25,000 in 1928 and had drawn media attention to "O'Keeffe" like never before. O'Keeffe's financia...
