The Painting That Set Georgia O'Keeffe's Auction Record
3 min read · 15 Jan 2025
Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Georgia O'Keeffe, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 (1932) sold for $44.41m at Sotheby's in New York on November 20, 2014. The oil on canvas work, 120cm x 101cm, had been traded 6 times in the past.
O'Keeffe painted the poisonous flower, which grew in abundance around her humble ranch in New Mexico, on such a large scale so that “even busy New Yorkers” would stop and notice it, she wrote.
The painting was acquired by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art founded by the Walmart billionaire Alice Walton, after it was consigned by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It had received the monumental flower painting as a gift from the museum's founder, the billionaire Fort Worth rancher and philanthropist Anne Marion.
Calla lilies with red anemone. Image courtesy of Christie's
The sale beat the artist’s previous auction record by $38.8m, a 600% rise. O'Keeffe's previous record was set by Calla lilies with red anemone (1928), which sold for $5.6m at Christie's on May 23, 2001. The work had not been traded before.
A Brief History of Georgia O'Keeffe at Auction
| Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-11-20 | Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 | $44.41m | 693 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 2001-05-23 | Calla lilies with red anemone | $5.6m | 70 % | Christie's | New York |
| 1997-12-03 | From the Plains | $3.3m | 83 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1987-12-03 | Black hollyhocks with blue larkspur | $1.8m | 57 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1985-12-05 | White rose New Mexico | $1.15m | 283 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1980-12-04 | Spring 1948 | $300,000 | 71 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1980-04-25 | Autumn Leaf II | $175,000 | 46 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1973-03-14 | Poppies | $120,000 | 216 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1972-12-13 | Black spot | $38,000 | 38 % | Sotheby's | New York |
| 1970-12-10 | Chimney cliffs | $27,500 | - | Sotheby's | New York |