She was given the name Marie-Clementine Valadon and was the uncelebrated daughter of an unmarried laundress. She was poor, rebellious and most independent. She began working at the age of 11. She was hardened from four years of long hours. She worked as an assistant in a milliner's workshop, made funeral wreaths, sold vegetables, and waited tables. Then, at risk of life and limb, she joined the circus at age 15.

In 1880, due to injuries suffered in a fall, she found a new way to support herself, serving as a model for struggling artists. Consequently she became a muse, lover, and collaborator for artists who would later become some of France's greatest painters. Her voluptuous, passionate and seductive qualities made her excellent modeling talent, while her inquisitive, ambitious and provocative nature allowed her to learn from the artists she worked for.

She posed for Amedeo Modigliani in 1880, and subsequently for Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes, Théophile Steinlen, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and others. She was good friends with Edgar Degas and composer Erik Satie.

Due to Marie's focused and rebellious determination, Toulouse-Lautrec gave her the nickname of Suzanne, based on the Biblical account of Susanna and the Elders in the book of Daniel. The nickname remained, and Marie became Suzanne Valadon.

She modeled successfully for ten years, teaching herself to paint while learning much from what she observed modeling. She has been imortalized in Dance at Bougival by Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1882-83. During the early 1880's, Edgar Degas was impressed by the young model's line drawings and paintings and purchased her work, encouraging her efforts.

Degas remained a Suzanne's friend until his death in 1917.

In 1894 at the age of 29, Suzanne became the first woman to attend the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. As a painter, Valadon is known for her still lifes, portraits, flowers, and memorable landscapes, all noted for their composition and vivid color. She's best known for her candid female nudes. In Suzanne's day, it was considered improper for a woman artist to paint female nudes. But Suzanne wasn't about to express herself by fitting into norms or rules set by anyone other than herself.

Valadon's paintings lacked the "delicate hand" often associated with women artists of the time. Her work featured rich color, bold open brushwork, and firm black outlines of her figures emphasizing body structure.

The firm outlines in her nudes helped contrast the play of light on curves. Her paintings are noticably different from male painters of the time, showing women in personal moments at their toilette, reclining nudes pictured in the warm light of interior scenes. Her work focused on composition often featuring boudoir decor.

Valadon's experience as a model taught her to view the model's body within the context of the work of art. How was Suzanne Valadon able to accomplish this at a time when other women couldn't? It has much to do with her low social caste. Having been born into extreme poverty and surviving a working life since the young age of eleven, her hard-knock experiences enabled her to be accepted among a small circle of young starving male artists who only became influential and famous years later.

She held no allegiance to anyone's code of propriety other than her own. This made her shine as a model, and enabled her to paint women in an unidealized manner, not overtly sexualized but nonetheless interesting, compelling, and alluring.

Suzanne had a son who also became an artist. In 1883, she gave birth to an illegitimate son, Maurice Utrillo. Suzanne's mother helped care for Maurice while she returned to modeling. Later, Valadon's friend Miguel Utrillo signed papers claiming Maurice was his son, although Suzanne never stated who the father was.

Anecdotally, Diego Rivera is believed to have shared this humorous story, "After Maurice was born to Suzanne Valadon, she went to Renoir, for whom she had modeled nine months previously. Renoir looked at the baby and said, 'He can't be mine, the color is terrible!' Next she went to Degas, for whom she had also modeled. He said, 'He can't be mine, the form is terrible!'

Finally, at a cafe, Valadon saw an artist she knew named Miguel Utrillo, to whom she spilled her woes. The man told her to call the baby Utrillo: 'I would be glad to put my name to the work of either Renoir or Degas!'"

Today, some of her works may be seen at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Grenoble, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Five years earlier in 1934, Amelia Earhart had her airplane strapped to the decks of the Lurline and sailed for Hawaii, only to fly back solo to Oakland. Now it was Georgia's turn to spread her creative wings into Pacific winds.

Her trip over was enjoyable, but her arrival in Honolulu did not go well. The gentrified male-dominated culture of pineapple plantations did not meld well with Georgia's idea of how an artist's nose works. The pineapple bosses felt it unseemly for a woman to roam free on their plantations, and instead decided it would be wise to deliver a pineapple plant to Georgia's hotel. They took the liberty of peeling and slicing the fruit ready for Georgia's still life magic.

Georgia of course was disgusted. She abruptly changed course and decided to extend her stay in the islands and left the confines of her Honolulu hotel for the outer islands. On Maui, she found her greatest freedom, and consequently her greatest inspiration. There she found unfiltered views of

nature in remote and wild valleys and coastlines. She especially enjoyed the road to Hana along Maui's eastern shore, and stayed in the remote village of Hana. There she found her old self, and busied herself with exploration and painting.

In 1939, Americans knew far less of Hawaii than they do today. For Georgia, it

was a feast of discovery. She wrote letters to her husband Alfred Stieglitz describing at length the dark and dense rainforests, the marvelously colored and exotic flora, and the magical black sand beaches. She painted word pictures for him of jagged black lava along the shore contrasted by the white splashes of surf.

She ventured up into the steep Ioa Valley with its looming vertical green walls and dazzling white waterfalls plummeting downward. She made it to the top of Mt. Haleakala, peering down into its deep crater and its endless vistas to the Big Island south across the Pacific adorned with fleets of floating clouds.

Georgia was a guest of the Kaeleku Sugar Plantation. The plantation manager assigned his 12 year old daughter, Patricia Jennings, to serve as Georgia's private guide. The notoriously independendent artist surprisingly struck up an unlikely friendship with young Patricia, and for ten days, the pair explored to their hearts content.

Hana was far different in 1939. When Georgia arrived, the town had a population of 3,500 residents, an international community of Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Portuguese, Pacific Islanders and Hawaiians. It had theaters, general stores, barber shops, restaurants, and it even had a pool hall.

Back in her New York studio, Georgia completed 20 Hawaii paintings, mostly of Hawaiian flowers, and not one of them a pineapple. Horrified, pineapple executives had pineapple plants shipped to New York by air, and Georgia finally painted their pineapple.

The plaque in the ad to the left showing Georgia's Pineapple Bud painting reads. "A Pineapple Bud from the Dole Plantation in Hawaii painted by Georgia O'Keeffe."

The Ad copy reads, "Perhaps you have never seen a pineapple bud -- and words cannot describe this glowing crater of color which on the Dole plantations grows and ripens into a lucious big pineapple ... Perhaps you have never tasted Dole Pineapple Juice; and there is no other way to discover the fragrant zestful goodness of this pure juice.  Just try it for breakfast ... after shopping or exercise ... with the children when they come from school ... whenever you or your family crave refreshment."

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts provides a centralized location for art performances, films, exhibitions, classes and events in Sonoma County. There's always something going on. The organization thrives with the contributions of time and talents of local artists, teachers, volunteers and generous donors.

Bentonville, AR
Crystal Bridges
Museum of American Art