Oriental Poppies

Oriental Poppies, also called Red Poppies, is a 1927 oil-on-canvas painting by Georgia O'Keeffe.[1][2][3][lower-alpha 1] It is a close-up of two Papaver orientale flowers that fill the entire canvas.[1]

For other uses, see Oriental poppies.
Oriental Poppies
ArtistGeorgia O'Keeffe
Year1927
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions101.6 cm × 76.2 cm (40.0 in × 30.0 in)
LocationWeisman Art Museum

Description

The Arts Desk describes it as more subtle but equally powerful as Calla Lilies on Red, "Peering into the bright-orange petals, O’Keeffe reveals the velvety dark interior. The drama of this provocative image stems from the juxtaposition of vivid color and intrusive close-up."[4] Of the large close-up, O'Keeffe said that she decided that she would paint flowers "big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers."[3] Making close-ups of flowers is said to have been influenced by her husband Alfred Stieglitz, a photographer, after they began a more sexual relationship.[7]

Along with Black Iris, Liese Spencer of The Guardian calls it one of "her lush, sensual paintings of flowers."[8] It fills the nearly four foot wide canvas, without a background, so that the flowers "explode" on the canvas, and direct the eye to the center of the flowers. It is among her most famous works of art.[6]

Collection

The painting is owned by the Weisman Art Museum of the University of Minnesota,[1] where as of July 2016 it was the most valuable painting in their collection.[9] Prior to its acquisition in 1937, it was exhibited by Stieglitz at his gallery, An American Place, in New York City.[1][10]

Exhibitions

In 2016, Tate Modern in London exhibited Oriental Poppies along with more than 100 of O'Keeffe's major works of art, made over six decades.[7] The exhibition was also held at the Bank Austria Kunstforum in Vienna that year.[11]

Notes
  1. The Arts Desk states that the painting was made in 1927,[4] as does The Guardian,[5] who also states in another article that it was made in 1928.[6]

References
  1. "Oriental Poppies, (painting)". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. Britta Benke (2000). Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887-1986: Flowers in the Desert. Taschen. pp. 37–38, 39. ISBN 978-3-8228-5861-5.
  3. "Georgia O'Keeffe Biography". Biography Channel. A&E Television Networks. August 26, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  4. Sarah Kent (July 5, 2016). "Georgia O'Keeffe, Tate Modern". The Arts Desk. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  5. "Georgia O'Keeffe at Tate Modern review – one long, strange trip". The Guardian. July 4, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  6. Laura Cumming (April 7, 2012). "The 10 best flower paintings – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop (July 5, 2015). "Video: A Tour of Georgia O'Keeffe Retrospective at Tate Modern, London". Blouin Art. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  8. Liese Spencer (December 31, 2015). "From Georgia O'Keeffe to War and Peace: unmissable arts events in 2016". The Guardian. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  9. Susan Mulcahy (July 27, 2016). "A Prized Stettheimer Painting, Sold Under the Radar by a University". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  10. "Oriental Poppies: WAM Urban Myth Buster". The WAM Files, Library, University of Minnesota. February 22, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  11. Stefan Dege (September 12, 2016). "Why Georgia O'Keeffe was a pioneer of American art". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
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