Only One

Artist

Georgia O'Keeffe, born Sun Prairie, WI 1887-died Santa Fe, NM 1986

Gallery Label

In 1959, Georgia O'Keeffe embarked on a whirlwind world tour for three months. Visiting India, East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Rome, her main source of transportation was, for the first time, commercial airlines. Despite a fear of flying, O'Keeffe was deeply inspired by the new perspective of seeing the land from high above. From such great heights, the natural formations of the earth's surface blur, losing their active tension as they devolve into abstract patterns. In Only One, swaths of rusty oranges and shadowy violets are interrupted by ribbon-like blues echoing the relationship of the arid land and nourishing rivers below.

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.

1959

Object number

1969.47.69

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Painting

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

36 x 30 1/8 in. (91.5 x 76.4 cm.)

Department

Painting and Sculpture

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Abstract

Record ID

saam_1969.47.69

Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk757adc5ea-2e4c-433c-bcb4-3354195007d0