Soon after Georgia O’Keeffe’s romantic relationship with the photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz blossomed in 1918, she began to accompany him on visits to his parents’ summer home at Lake George, New York. On her first visit, she was drawn to the canna lilies that bloomed profusely there in late summer. The flowers’ billowy petals and intense colors inspired O’Keeffe to create a series of paintings that included this one. Her early florals inspired O’Keeffe to further exploration, and flowers become a mainstay of her mature works.
