Georgia O'Keeffe first exhibited her abstract charcoal drawings at New York's 291 gallery in 1916.
The drawings came from a period when O'Keeffe was testing whether line, shape, and tone could communicate emotion without depicting recognizable objects. They were among her earliest fully abstract works and attracted the attention of Alfred Stieglitz, the gallery's director.
Stieglitz displayed the drawings without O'Keeffe's advance permission. He soon began corresponding with her and eventually organized exhibitions of her work. Their relationship became both artistic and personal, culminating in their marriage in 1924.
The year 1916 marks an important step in O'Keeffe's emergence as a modernist. It is distinct from 1917, when she had a solo exhibition at 291. Confusing those dates can obscure the sequence: initial display of the charcoal drawings came first, followed by broader recognition and a dedicated exhibition.