Georgia O’Keeffe first exhibited publicly in New York at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery 291.
The gallery was located at 291 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and its address became its name. Alfred Stieglitz founded it in 1905 as the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession; it was commonly called 291 after the move to that address.
Stieglitz exhibited O’Keeffe’s charcoal abstractions there in 1916 after seeing drawings that Anita Pollitzer had shown him. O’Keeffe was not present when the first exhibition was arranged, and Stieglitz initially knew her only through her work.
The gallery was an important venue for European and American modernism, presenting photography alongside paintings and sculpture. O’Keeffe’s connection with 291 led to a long professional relationship with Stieglitz and helped bring her work to the attention of New York’s art community. The gallery closed in 1917, but its influence remained substantial.