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Oil on canvas, 7 x 7 inches
CR No. 622
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National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1987.58.7
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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.
© Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Version History
Core fields last updated 6/10/2026
Last verified by current collection Dec 09 2025
Source System ID
8685
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