Georgia O'Keeffe painted her first large-scale flower close-up, Petunia, No. 2, in 1925.
The painting marked an important development in her treatment of flowers. By enlarging the bloom so that it nearly fills the picture, O'Keeffe made a familiar natural subject appear abstract, monumental, and newly unfamiliar.
Petunia, No. 2 was one of the works that helped establish the flower imagery most associated with her career. She continued to paint flowers throughout later decades, including irises, poppies, lilies, and jimson weeds.
The date is distinct from 1924, the year she married Stieglitz, and from 1932, when she painted Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1. Those nearby dates often become mixed together in summaries of her flower paintings.