The Special is the 1915 series of drawings that helped establish Georgia O'Keeffe's abstract style.
O'Keeffe created The Special while teaching in South Carolina. The charcoal drawings reduced natural forms to sweeping lines, curves, and tonal contrasts rather than depicting recognizable objects in a conventional way.
She sent some of these drawings to Anita Pollitzer, who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz in New York. Stieglitz exhibited them at his 291 gallery in 1916, making O'Keeffe one of the first American artists to produce purely abstract works of this kind.
The series predates her better-known flower paintings and New Mexico landscapes. It is also distinct from Black Place, a later group inspired by dark cliffs near Ghost Ranch. The title The Special refers to the series, not to a single flower or building painting.