Georgia O'Keeffe traveled to Hawaii to paint pineapple for an advertising commission in 1939.
The Hawaiian Pineapple Company, later known as Dole Food Company, invited O'Keeffe to Hawaii in 1939. The assignment was intended to produce images for advertising, but O'Keeffe's experience became more than a commercial visit. She spent about nine weeks traveling through the islands and painted plants, flowers, and landscapes.
The company wanted a pineapple image, yet O'Keeffe did not receive a pineapple until late in her stay. She then painted it in New York after returning from Hawaii. This detail is often repeated because it contrasts the advertising commission with the artist's independent way of working.
Her Hawaiian paintings were later shown in New York in 1940. The trip is less central to her reputation than her New Mexico work, but it demonstrates that O'Keeffe also addressed tropical subjects and commercial commissions during her career.