Georgia O'Keeffe first exhibited her abstract drawings at the New York gallery known as 291 in 1916.
The gallery was founded and directed by photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Its official address was 291 Fifth Avenue, and the address became its familiar name. Stieglitz used the space to show avant-garde European and American art, including photography, modern painting, and sculpture.
An art teacher, Anita Pollitzer, sent O'Keeffe's drawings to Stieglitz without first obtaining O'Keeffe's permission. Stieglitz was impressed by the drawings and included them in an exhibition at 291. This event helped bring O'Keeffe's work to the attention of New York's modern-art circles.
The gallery closed in 1917, but Stieglitz continued presenting O'Keeffe's work at later galleries. 291 should not be confused with An American Place, the gallery he opened in 1930, or with O'Keeffe's later museum in Santa Fe.