What flower is depicted in Georgia O'Keeffe's 1932 painting Red Canna?

Georgia O'Keeffe's 1932 painting Red Canna depicts a canna lily.

O'Keeffe repeatedly painted flowers in close-up, enlarging their forms until petals and folds filled the canvas. Red Canna belongs to this celebrated body of work. Its saturated red and orange shapes turn a recognizable flower into an almost abstract composition, encouraging viewers to study color, contour, and internal movement rather than simply identify a plant.

Canna lilies are flowering plants in the genus Canna, known for broad leaves and prominent blooms. O'Keeffe painted several canna subjects during the period when flowers were becoming an important part of her public identity, although she objected to the idea that the works should be reduced to symbolic interpretations.

Red Canna is not a painting of a calla lily, even though O'Keeffe also painted calla lilies. Her flower series included poppies, irises, jimson weed, and other plants, making the exact title and species important when distinguishing among them.