Year 1936 Artist Georgia O'Keeffe | Created 1936 | |
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Dimensions 180 cm × 212 cm (70 in × 83.5 in) Similar Georgia O'Keeffe artwork, Other artwork | ||
American icon georgia o keeffe s jimson weed white flower no 1
Jimson Weed is an oil on linen painting by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe from 1936, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It depicts four large blossoms of jimson weed, or datura.
Contents
- American icon georgia o keeffe s jimson weed white flower no 1
- Jimson weed
- Description
- Historical information
- Acquisition
- References
Jimson weed
Description
O'Keeffe reiterated the pinwheel-shaped flowers' structure in the tight placement of the four blossoms in the painting. Her use of rhythmic light and shade and a simplified palette underscores their fresh, simple beauty.
Historical information
O'Keeffe was immensely fond of jimson weed, ignoring its seeds' toxicity and allowing it to flourish around her patio. She paid tribute to the bloom in this painting, originally entitled Miracle Flower. Jimson Weed was commissioned by cosmetics magnate Elizabeth Arden for the new Gymnasium Moderne of her Fifth Avenue Salon in New York City. Placed in the exercise room, the unfurling blossoms were meant to encourage clients in their stretches. Arden paid the exorbitant sum of $10,000 for the largest floral composition O'Keeffe would ever create.
Acquisition
The painting was acquired by the IMA in 1997, a gift of Eli Lilly and Company, who had acquired it from Arden's salon in 1971. It is currently on view in the Paine American Modernism Gallery and has the accession number 1997.131.
On November 20, 2014 the oversize (48x40-inch) painting sold for $44,405,000 at Sotheby’s American Art sale, as of March 2015 it is the highest price ever paid at auction for an artwork created by a woman. The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum was the painting's seller, and its proceeds went directly to the museum’s acquisitions fund.