Georgia O'Keeffe used charcoal for the abstract drawings shown at 291 in 1916.
The drawings were part of a breakthrough period in which O'Keeffe moved away from the academic realism she had been taught and began making simplified, nonrepresentational forms. Their curving lines and concentrated shapes demonstrated how much expression she could achieve without depicting recognizable objects.
Anita Pollitzer brought examples of the drawings to Alfred Stieglitz, who exhibited them at his New York gallery. The display introduced O'Keeffe to the New York art world and led to a sustained relationship with Stieglitz.
These early works are sometimes described generally as abstract paintings, but the material detail matters: they were charcoal drawings on paper. O'Keeffe later became especially famous for oil paintings of flowers, landscapes, bones, and architectural forms.