Georgia O'Keeffe's 1924 painting of a red flower is titled Red Canna.
Red Canna belongs to O'Keeffe's important flower-painting period. It presents a close-up view of a canna blossom, enlarging the flower so that folds, curves, and saturated color fill much of the composition. The painting demonstrates how O'Keeffe used a recognizable natural subject to create an image that also approaches abstraction.
O'Keeffe produced many flower paintings during the 1920s, and their titles often identify the plant or color. That makes Red Canna easy to confuse with Red Poppy, another flower-related title, or with Red Hills, which refers to a landscape subject rather than a blossom.
The painting also illustrates why O'Keeffe resisted overly literal readings of her flowers. Although critics frequently connected them with sexuality, she emphasized looking closely at objects that people ordinarily overlooked. Red Canna is therefore both a botanical subject and a study in shape, rhythm, and color.