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Art Institute of Chicago

Spotted

Georgia O'Keeffe — Red and Pink Rocks and Teeth
Georgia O'Keeffe

Red and Pink Rocks and Teeth

1938

Georgia O’Keeffe was fascinated by the animal bones, weathered and worn, that she found in the desert in New Mexico. In Red and Pink Rocks and Teeth she presented a jawbone alongside two stacked rocks that appear both monumental and indeterminate. The smooth, rounded forms of the red and pink rocks appear in enigmatic relation to one another, as the red pebble appears to recede from the picture plane even though it must be perched on top of the pink stone. Their abstracted forms and warm colors contrast sharply with the bleached, angular teeth and hard, cracked appearance of the jawbone and together construct a modern trompe l’oeil that questions the nature of representation and perception.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Location
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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About this work

Georgia O'Keeffe, Red and Pink Rocks and Teeth, 1938

Georgia O’Keeffe was fascinated by the animal bones, weathered and worn, that she found in the desert in New Mexico. In Red and Pink Rocks and Teeth she presented a jawbone alongside two stacked rocks that appear both monumental and indeterminate. The smooth, rounded forms of the red and pink rocks appear in enigmatic relation to one another, as the red pebble appears to recede from the picture plane even though it must be perched on top of the pink stone. Their abstracted forms and warm colors contrast sharply with the bleached, angular teeth and hard, cracked appearance of the jawbone and together construct a modern trompe l’oeil that questions the nature of representation and perception.

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
53.3 x 33 cm
Year
1938
Seen at
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Related themes

Modern, Unique Work, Painting, Oil on Canvas

More works by Georgia O'Keeffe

Similar artists

Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, Peter Blume

Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art