Georgia O'Keeffe's 1916 series Specials first brought her work to Alfred Stieglitz's attention.
O'Keeffe created the charcoal drawings while teaching in South Carolina and later sent them to her friend Anita Pollitzer. Pollitzer showed them to Stieglitz, who exhibited some of them at his gallery 291 in 1916.
The drawings were striking because they used abstract lines and forms rather than recognizable landscapes or objects. They helped introduce O'Keeffe as an unusually original voice in American modern art.
Stieglitz initially exhibited the drawings without O'Keeffe's permission, which caused tension. Nevertheless, the event began the professional relationship that shaped both artists' careers.