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Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Access O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Shell No. I, 1928
Courtesy of National Gallery of Art.
Image: okeeffe_CR622_shell-no-i_857684.jpg
Georgia O'Keeffe
Shell No. I, 1928
Oil on canvas, 7 x 7 inches
CR No. 622
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1987.58.7
Oil on canvas, 7 x 7 inches
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1987.58.7
CR No. 622

A large, white spiral seashell sits in the center of the composition against a gray background.

CR No. 622

Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Shell No. I

Source of title: Whitney Archive, Downtown Gallery Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks, 1929 New York (Intimate Gallery) exhibition checklist.

Alternate Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Coiled Shell No. 1

General Remarks

Whitney Archive indicates, "Exam. at Amer. Place, March 1946. . . . No signature" [notes backing inscriptions 1, 2]. (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Inscriptions

Stretcher: 1. "G. O'Keeffe / 1928" (black paint) 2. "#21" (unidentified hand, graphite). Backing: 1. OK {5star} (graphite) 2. "1928 / Georgia O'Keeffe / Coiled / Shell No. 1 / Cat # / Exh. 1929" (Alfred Stieglitz, graphite) (Source: Lynes, 1999)

A document from NGA CRF file indicates:

“Inscriptions and labels from the backing board for 1987.57.7 recorded December 1996:

Handwritten, across top: TOP 1928 Georgia O’Keeffe [#21 crossed out] Coiled Shell No. 1 Exhibition 1929 [OK within five-pointed star]

An examination report from September 12, 1996 indicates:

“The artist has signed the painting on the back of the stretcher, on the upper member: G. O Keeffe. The date 1928 is visible on the lower member of the stretcher. Both signature and date are executed with a grey paint, probably the same paint used for the background of the painting, and are applied with a brush in bold letters and numbers. “#21” is visible on the right side in pencil.

The backing board has a number of interesting notations probably by other hands than the artist’s. Georgia O’Keeffe catalogue raisonne author Barbara Lynes has stated that she recognized the handwriting of Alfred Stieglitz for: 1928/ Georgia O’Keeffe (Coiled) / Shell No. 1 / Exhibition 1929. “Coiled” is executed in a different handwriting, possibly added by the artist’s dealer. The word OK within a five-pointed star may also be in Stieglitz’s handwriting. Further notations are #21 and 1928. All notations are executed in pencil. (Source: NGA, 2025)

Technique

Oil Painting

Materials

Oil on canvas

The artist; sold 1953 through (Downtown Gallery, New York) to private collection, New York; the artist [1887-1996], by unknown date;[1] her estate; bequest 1987 to NGA. (Source: NGA, 2025)

[1] Provenance from Barbara Buhler Lynes, _Georgia O'Keeffe: Catalogue Raisonné_, 2 vols., New Haven and London, 1999: 1:366.

Credits & Rights

© Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Administrative Information

Version History

Core fields last updated 6/10/2026

Last verified by current collection Dec 09 2025

Source System ID

8685

Other IDs

622, Catalogue Raisonné