Flowers were the subject Georgia O'Keeffe repeatedly painted in close-up views, helping make them her signature motif.
O'Keeffe enlarged flowers so dramatically that petals and centers could fill the entire canvas. She explained that people were rarely given time to look closely at flowers, so she decided to make them large enough that viewers could not ignore them. This approach turned familiar natural objects into bold modern compositions.
Her flower paintings include works such as Oriental Poppies, Red Canna, and Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1. She used strong cropping, simplified shapes, and intense color rather than attempting botanical illustration in a scientific sense.
A common misunderstanding is that O'Keeffe painted flowers solely as symbolic images. She resisted fixed interpretations and emphasized the visual experience of looking. Critics and popular culture often connected the organic forms with sexuality, but that interpretation does not define the full range of her work or her stated interest in close observation.