1929
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
White Flower is a 1929 unspecified by Georgia O'Keeffe, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a single white flower, petals spread wide, filling almost the whole canvas. The edges blur into soft shadows, like you’re peering through a magnifying glass. O’Keeffe painted flowers this big to make people slow down and really look. She hated when people called them symbols of femininity—she just liked how the shapes fit together. The painting feels quiet, almost like a close-up photo. If you like this, check out more works in The Cleveland Museum of Art.
O’Keeffe is best known for close-up flower subjects whose magnified forms fill the entire space of each canvas. Likely inspired by similar compositions in modern photography, these images are not only celebrations of natural forms, but also striking essays in abstract design. Although many critics interpreted O’Keeffe’s flower paintings as reflections of femininity in general and female sexuality in particular, the artist strongly opposed such readings. Throughout most of her career, she frequently attempted to persuade others to discuss her work without referring to her gender, writing on…
This was the first flower painting by Georgia O'Keeffe to be purchased by an art museum.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist painter and draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements.
See the richer artist page
