Flowers are especially associated with Georgia O'Keeffe’s enlarged paintings. She often magnified blossoms until their petals filled the canvas, encouraging viewers to notice shapes, curves, color, and detail that might otherwise be overlooked.
Her flower paintings became prominent in the 1920s. Works such as Oriental Poppies and Black Iris use close views and simplified forms rather than presenting plants as small elements in a garden scene. O'Keeffe said that people did not take time to look at flowers closely, so she painted them large enough to make them memorable.
Critics frequently interpreted these paintings as sexual symbols, but O'Keeffe rejected the idea that their meaning could be reduced to anatomy. She emphasized direct observation and the visual power of natural forms.
Flowers were only one part of her career. She also painted New York architecture, New Mexico landscapes, bones, shells, and abstract forms, making her work broader than the flower images most often reproduced.