Morning Glory with Black 1926

Georgia O’Keeffe painted this “Morning Glory with Black” with oil paints, and it’s like she’s inviting us to see the world in a totally new way. The way she works with the paint, it’s so smooth, almost like she’s caressing the canvas. You can see that in the way the white petals curve and fold, they’re almost breathing. And then, that stark black shape pushing in from the side - it’s so unexpected. The contrast makes you feel the softness of the flower even more. I keep thinking about the edge of that black form, it’s not a hard line, it’s got this fuzzy, blurred quality. It reminds me of some of those abstract expressionist painters, like Rothko, who were all about feeling and emotion. O’Keeffe, she’s doing something similar, but with a flower. It’s like she’s saying, “Look closer, there’s more here than you think.”