Georgia O'Keeffe painted Oriental Poppies in 1927.
The painting presents enormous red poppies against a dark background, using scale and saturated color to make the flowers dominate the viewer's field of vision. It belongs to the group of enlarged-flower paintings that became central to O'Keeffe's reputation during the 1920s.
O'Keeffe's flower subjects were not botanical illustrations in the scientific sense. She simplified and enlarged them to emphasize visual experience, including the curves of petals and the contrast between bright color and surrounding darkness.
The date is sometimes mixed up with 1929, the year of O'Keeffe's first extended visit to New Mexico. That trip led to a major new phase in her landscapes and bone paintings, whereas Oriental Poppies belongs to her earlier flower-focused period.