What is the full title of Georgia O'Keeffe's 1932 record-setting flower painting?
Answer
Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1
The full title of Georgia O'Keeffe's 1932 record-setting flower painting is Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1.
O'Keeffe painted the work in 1932, using a close-up view of a white jimson-weed blossom. Its scale turns a familiar plant into a monumental abstract-looking form, a characteristic feature of her flower paintings. The title combines the plant’s common name with a numbered designation.
In 2014, the painting sold at Sotheby’s for $44.4 million including the buyer’s premium. It became the most expensive artwork by a female artist sold at auction at that point. Later sales changed the record, so the phrase “record-setting” belongs specifically to its 2014 auction context.
The work is often shortened in conversation to Jimson Weed, but the complete title is the more precise answer. It should also not be confused with O'Keeffe’s other flower paintings, such as Black Iris III or Red Canna.