Georgia O'Keeffe used charcoal for her groundbreaking abstract drawings of 1915.
These works were among her earliest attempts to make purely abstract art rather than depict recognizable people, places, or objects. Using simple black charcoal on paper, she explored lines, curves, rhythms, and the expressive possibilities of form.
The drawings were sent to Alfred Stieglitz, the New York photographer and gallery owner, who exhibited them at his gallery 291 in 1916. Their display helped bring O'Keeffe's work to the attention of the American art world and began a long personal and professional relationship between the two artists.
The material is sometimes mistaken for oil paint because O'Keeffe later became famous for richly colored flower and landscape paintings. Her 1915 abstractions, however, are especially associated with charcoal on paper and mark a crucial early stage in her development.