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Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Access O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
East River, 1932
Courtesy of Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Photo: Tim Nighswander/IMAGING4ART
Image: okeeffe_CR802_east-river_786523.jpg
Georgia O'Keeffe
East River, 1932
Charcoal on paper, 18 3/8 x 24 inches
CR No. 802
Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation
2006.5.138
Charcoal on paper, 18 3/8 x 24 inches
Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation
2006.5.138
CR No. 802

This work illustrates the industrial landscape surrounding the East River. The river, on which a boat is visible, bisects the scene horizontally. In the foreground, several buildings line the various streets that lead to the river bank. On the opposite side of the river, smokestacks rise above factories. This artwork has Untitled (New York), 1932 (cat. no. 803) on the back.

CR No. 802

Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

East River

Source of title: verso inscription 2.

General Remarks

Not recorded Whitney Archive, Downtown Gallery Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks. (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Inscriptions

Watermark: MICHALLET France Inscriptions: Verso:

  1. another work, sketch of skyscraper, see cat. no. 803
  2. " East River Georgia O'Keeffe 32" (graphite)
  3. "22" (unidentified hand, graphite) Backing: "Georgia O'Keeffe" (black ink) (Source: Lynes, 1999)
Technique

Drawing

Materials

Charcoal on paper

Extended Medium Description

Charcoal on medium thick, cream, slightly textured laid paper; Watermark: MICHALLET France
(Source: Paper Survey researched by Judith C. Walsh and published in Lynes, 1999.)

Estate of the artist, 1986
Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation, 1993
Gift to Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, 2006
(Source: Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, 2025)

Credits & Rights

© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Administrative Information

Version History

Core fields last updated 10/15/2026

Source System ID

1008

Other IDs

802, Catalogue Raisonné

Conservation

Information is from the most recently submitted report, please contact the current owner to verify updated details.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

Support: The support is a sheet of medium-thick, cream-colored, slightly textured, Ingres-type laid paper. Chain lines move vertically across the composition. There is a watermark in the lower viewer's right corner in reverse that reads "MICHALLET (France)."

Ground or Support Preparation: There is no visible sizing or fixative visible in normal or UV light, although dilute gelatin sizing would be difficult to see, even in UV.

Design Layers: Charcoal is applied with dense, curvelinear outlining and with various degrees of shading, fill, and overlap. There is no subtractive work visible.

Surface Coating: No fixative or surface coating is visible.

Framing, Backing, and Hanging Hardware: The work is framed in a 2006 white wash maple frame with secondary basswood backing and strainer. The over-matted 8-ply, cotton-finer Rising Museum mounting board (warm-white) window mat is folio taped to the 4-ply backing mat of the same type. The sandwich system of Optium tin-titanium optically coated acrylic is sealed to an acid-free, zeolite- and charcoal-embedded backing board. An insulating panel of acid-free Fome-Cor board is added to the back.

CONDITION NARRATIVE

The drawing is unfixed, complete, and retains all the original structural and material elements applied by the artist at the time of fabrication. The mounting is secure, and the mat and backing materials are stable. There are handling finger dents that are best seen in raking illumination, at either side and below the mid-point of the vertical dimension. There are repetitive cockles across the top and bottom edges, possibly as a result of the historic rolling of the sheet. There are numerous inclusions in the paper.