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Photography by Edward C. Robison III
Flying Backbone
Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings often subvert scale and perspective. In Flying Backbone, she positions a cow’s lumbar vertebra so that it appears larger than a mountain range in New Mexico. The work reflects O’Keeffe’s tendency to remain within the tradition of Realism while presenting her subjects in unexpected configurations.
ArtistGeorgia O'Keeffe, 1887–1986
Date1944
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions15 9/16 x 29 9/16 x 2 in.
Credit LineAlfred Stieglitz Collection, Co-owned by Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
ClassificationPainting
ProvenanceArtist; to Fisk University, Nashville, TN, 1949; to Fisk University, Nashville, TN, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, as co-owners, 2012
On ViewNo
This artwork's face covers about 63× the area of a tennis ball.Drawn to the same scale.
