Object number1967.31.12

Two Figs

Date1923

Artist Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887-1986)

CultureAmerican

MediumOil on board

DimensionsUnframed: 7 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. (20 x 15 cm)
Framed: 10 5/8 x 8 1/4 x 1 9/16 in. (27 x 21 x 4 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Arthur Schwab (Edna Bryner, class of 1907)

On View

On view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Painting

Terms

still lifes

InscribedInscribed (verso, on label): An American Place' / 509 Madison Ave. N. Y. / FIGS by Georgia O'Keeffe

ProvenancePurchased by Mrs. Arthur Schwab (Edna Bryner, class of 1907) from Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place, New York

Vassar Exhibitions

American Stories 1800-1950

Exhibition HistoryJapan, Shimane Art Museum, "Paris--New York; Modern Paintings in 19th and 20th Century Master Works from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York," March 7 - May 11, 2008 (Ishibashi Museum of Art, May 17 - July 20, 2008; Yamagata Museum of Art, July 30 - August 31, 2008; Fuchu Art Museum, September 6 - November 3, 2008; Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, November 14 - December 14, 2008);

Poughkeepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "American Stories 1800 - 1950," January 29 - April 17, 2016

London, England, Tate Modern, "Georgia O'Keefe," July 6 - October 30, 2016.

Label TextPart of the rich holdings of Stieglitz-circle material, this painting by O’Keeffe is a fine example of her ability to lend to an everyday object, plant, or flower a sense of monumentality. The placement of the two very differently shaped figs against the folds of the stark, bright, white background invest them with an ambiguous identity. As with so many of O’Keeffe’s natural forms, they suggest other, parallel objects. Their scale has no specific comparative reference, thus a small painting such as this one can seem in reproduction to suggest something much larger. This painting was included in the early O’Keeffe retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York held in 1946. Like a number of the other works of the Stieglitz group in Vassar’s collection, it was purchased by the donor directly from Stieglitz’s gallery, An American Place.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu