Georgia O'Keeffe's 1916 series known as the Specials made her large-scale abstract drawings especially important.
The Specials were a group of works on paper that O'Keeffe produced while teaching in Texas and corresponding with photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz. The drawings used charcoal and other limited means to explore rhythm, movement, and form. Their spare appearance contrasted with the more conventional academic art she had been trained to make.
Stieglitz exhibited some of these drawings in New York in 1916. Their presentation helped bring O'Keeffe to the attention of the modern-art circle around his gallery. The works were not straightforward pictures of landscapes or objects; instead, they investigated visual structure and emotional intensity through abstract marks.
The title Specials can be missed because many summaries simply call these works her early abstractions. They are also distinct from her later flower paintings, New York skyscraper pictures, and desert landscapes, all of which developed different subjects while retaining her interest in simplified form.