Specials is the 1915 series of Georgia O’Keeffe drawings widely recognized as her first major abstract work.
O’Keeffe created the Special drawings in charcoal in 1915 while teaching in South Carolina. Instead of depicting recognizable objects, the works use curved lines, shapes, and tonal contrasts to explore visual relationships. They represented a decisive break from the academic realism that had dominated much of her earlier training.
She sent some of these drawings to Anita Pollitzer, who showed them to Alfred Stieglitz in New York. Stieglitz exhibited them at 291 in 1916, helping introduce O’Keeffe to the city’s modern-art community. The series therefore connects her private experiments with the public beginning of her professional reputation.
The name is sometimes treated as a general description, but Specials is the established title associated with this group. Later flower series, such as Black Iris and Jack-in-the-Pulpits, are recognizable images rather than the earliest major abstract drawings.