What New York skyscraper did Georgia O'Keeffe paint in her 1927 night view?

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Georgia O'Keeffe painted The Radiator Building in her 1927 work Radiator Building—Night, New York.

The building was the American Radiator Building, a landmark at 40 West 40th Street in Manhattan. Its dark facade and brightly illuminated windows provided O'Keeffe with a dramatic subject for a painting that combines recognizable architecture with bold, simplified forms.

O'Keeffe lived in New York for many years and painted the city's skyscrapers during the 1920s. Rather than treating them as ordinary architectural records, she emphasized their vertical scale, color, geometry, and nighttime atmosphere. Radiator Building—Night, New York is often discussed as an important example of her urban work.

The building was designed by Raymond Hood and André Fouilhoux and completed in 1924. Its black-and-gold appearance made it especially striking. It was later known as the American Standard Building and is now commonly called the Bryant Park Hotel, but O'Keeffe's painting title preserves its earlier identity.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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