The flower in Georgia O'Keeffe's 1936 painting Black Iris is an iris.
Black Iris is one of O'Keeffe's large-scale flower paintings, in which a single blossom fills much of the composition. The painting uses deep violet, blue, and black forms to make the flower appear almost abstract, while its title identifies the subject as an iris.
O'Keeffe repeatedly painted flowers at monumental scale. She explained that enlarging small flowers allowed people to see details they might otherwise miss, especially in a busy city environment. Critics and viewers often interpreted these works symbolically or sexually, but O'Keeffe rejected the idea that her flower paintings had to be understood through Freudian symbolism.
The work is associated with the 1920s and 1930s period when flower imagery became a central part of her public identity. The title should not be confused with Black Iris III or other iris paintings by O'Keeffe.