Georgia O'Keeffe's Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 sold for $44.4 million at auction. The 1932 painting set a record for the highest price paid for a work by a female artist at auction at the time.
The large white jimson weed flower is presented against a pale background, making its trumpet-shaped petals appear monumental. O'Keeffe repeatedly enlarged flowers so viewers would notice details that might otherwise be overlooked.
The painting was sold by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 2014. The buyer was identified as Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who had previously founded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.
The record was later surpassed by other works by women artists, including paintings by Louise Bourgeois and Yayoi Kusama. The sale nevertheless remains a frequently cited milestone in the public recognition and market valuation of O'Keeffe's art.