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Charcoal on paper, 24 1/4 x 18 7/8 inches
CR No. 118
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Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Altschul Purchase Fund
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Dark gray and black lines, set against a gray background, spiral around one another.
CR No. 118
Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)
No. 8 – Special
Source of title: Whitney Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks indicate lost inscription on original backing, 'On backing: By O'Keeffe, 'No. 8 – 1915/Special.' Star initials. In blue crayon in circle '581' also stamped number '25635.'
Alternate Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)
Drawing No. 8
Source of title: Whitney Archive, Downtown Gallery Archive.
Special No. 8
Source of title: Abiquiú Notebooks.
Alternate Title
No. 8 – Special (Drawing No. 8)
Source of title: Whitney Museum of American Art.
General Remarks
Whitney Archive indicates, "Exam. at Whitney Mus, May 1946."Abiquiú Notebooks indicates, "Shown: Photo Succession Gallery, 1915 1916?"{"1915"crossed out} Not included in 1916 exhibition. Whitney Archive, Downtown Gallery Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks date 1915. Dated 1916 on basis of Stieglitz–O'Keeffe correspondence and similarities to cat. nos. 117, 119–21. Completed in Virginia or Texas. Pictured in 1917 New York (291) Stieglitz installation photograph, see Appendix III, figure 5. O'Keeffe wrote: "I have made this drawing several times––never remembering that I made it before––and not knowing where the idea came from"(Some Memories of Drawings [1988], unpaginated). (Source: Lynes, 1999)
Inscriptions
Watermark on verso lower right corner: PMF/ (ITALIA)
Label on backing board upper left printed in ink: WHITNEY/ 85.51/ Georgia O'Keeffe/ Drawing No. 8, 1915/ Charcoal on paper mounted on cardboard/ Sheet: 24 1/4 x 18 7/8 in. (61.6 x 47.9 cm)/ Purchase, with funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Altschul/ Purchase Fund/ Whitney Museum of American Art 945 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10021
Label on backing board lower right printed in ink: Norton Museum of Art/ West Palm Beach, Florida/ Georgia O'Keeffe: Circling Around Abstraction/ Norton Museum, February 10 - May 6, 2007/ Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, May 25 - September 9, 2007/ Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, October 7,/ 2007 - January 6, 2008
Label on backing board printed in ink: WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART/ 945 Madison Avenue New York, N.Y. 10021/ [horizontal line]/ O'Keeffe, Georgia/ Drawing No. 8 (1915)/ Alternate Title: No. 8/ Special/ Charcoal on paper mounted on cardboard/ 24 1/4 x 18 7/8 in. (61.6 x 47.9 cm.)/ Purchase, with funds from the Mr. and / Mrs. Arthur G. Altschul Purchase Fund/ 85.52 S 24
Label on backing board printed in ink: Hawyward Gallery London SE1 8XZ 071-928 3144/ exhibition Georgia O'Keeffe: American & Modern 1993/cat. no 4/ artist Georgia O'Keeffe/ title Drawing No 8 (Special No 8) 1915/owner Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Label on backing board printed in ink: WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART/ 945 Madison Avenue at Seventy-Fifth Street New York, NY 10021/ Georgia O'Keeffe/ Drawing No. 8, (1915)/ charcoal/paper/ 85.52/ LOAN #93.8.2, on loan to:/ Hayward Gallery, London/ April 8 - June 22, 1993
Label on backing board printed in ink: WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART/ 945 Madison Avenue at Seventy-Fifth Street New York, NY 10021/ Georgia O'Keeffe/ Drawing No. 8, 1915/ charcoal on paper mounted/ on cardboard/ 85.52/ OF, FOR, AND BY GEORGIA O'KEEFFE/ February 25 - May 4, 1994
Label on backing board in type: THE FINE ARTS MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO/ M.H. de Young Memorial Museum/ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 94118/ (415) 558-2887/ [checkmark] California Palace of the Legion of Honor/ Lincoln Park, San Francisco 94121/ (415) 558-2881/ LOAN NO./ L87.77.53/ LOAN EXHIBITION 20th Century Drawings from the Whitney Museum/ LOAN DATES January 16 - May 22, 1988/ ARTIST Georgia O'Keeffe/ TITLE & DATE Drawing #8/ OWNER The Whitney Museum/ ADDRESS
Label on backing board printed in ink: [eagle logo]/ National Gallery of Art/ Washington, D.C./ Exhibition: AM. DRWGS. & WCS OF THE 20th C:/ SELECTIONS FR. THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AM. ART/ Date: 24 May 87 - 7 Sept. 87 Cat. # 53/ Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe/ Title: Drawing #8/ Lender: The Whitney Museum of American Art/ 85.52
(Source: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2025)
Technique
Drawing
Materials
Charcoal on paper
Extended Medium Description
Charcoal on medium thick, white, moderately textured laid paper; Watermark: INGRES PMF (ITALIA)
(Source: Paper Survey researched by Judith C. Walsh and published in Lynes, 1999.)
1970–1971
Whitney Museum of American Art (as Georgia O'Keeffe)
Art Institute of Chicago (as Georgia O'Keeffe)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (as Georgia O'Keeffe)
1993–1994
Hayward Gallery (as Georgia O'Keeffe: American & Modern)
Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (as Georgia O'Keeffe: American & Modern)
Yokohama Museum of Art (as Georgia O'Keeffe: American & Modern)
2009–2010
Whitney Museum of American Art (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction)
The Phillips Collection (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction)
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction)
2007–2008
Norton Museum of Art (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Circling Around Abstraction and Georgia O'Keeffe, Illuminated: Photographs by Tony Vaccaro)
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Circling Around Abstraction and Georgia O'Keeffe, Illuminated: Photographs by Tony Vaccaro)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (as Georgia O'Keeffe: Circling Around Abstraction and Georgia O'Keeffe, Illuminated: Photographs by Tony Vaccaro)
1917
1946–1947
Whitney Museum of American Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
University of Michigan, Museum of Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Springfield Museums (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Delaware Art Museum (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Baltimore Museum of Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Phillips Memorial Gallery (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
New Orleans Museum of Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Minnesota Museum of American Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Columbus Museum of Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Munson Museum (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
Smith College Museum of Art (as Pioneers of Modern Art in America)
1915- collection of the artist; 1985 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (sold through the Robert Miller Gallery, Inc., New York, New York)
(Source: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2025)
© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Version History
Core fields last updated 5/20/2026
Last verified by current collection Sep 15 2025
Source System ID
8300
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