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Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Access O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy, 1928
Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Image: okeeffe_CR642_yellow-hickory-leaves-with-daisy_871277.jpg
Georgia O'Keeffe
Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy, 1928
Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 39 7/8 inches
CR No. 642
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1965.1180
Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 39 7/8 inches
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1965.1180
CR No. 642

Bright yellow hickory leaves erupt from a central point of the composition, filling the frame. At the bottom center of the work sits a daisy with white petals and a yellow center. Slivers of white background surround the leaves.

CR No. 642

Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy

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

Alternate Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Yellow Autumn Leaves with White Daisy

General Remarks

Whitney Archive indicates, "Painted 1928. Infor. from Miss Bry (An Amer. Place), July 1949: On permanent loan to the AIC from Georgia O'Keeffe as part of the Alfred Stieglitz Coll. Note: Miss Bry called it 'Hickory Leaves with Daisy,' 1929, but I think this is the picture as I have no ptg. of that title or date listed. Check with Miss Bry or AIC." (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Inscriptions

Stretcher: "plate glass for this" (George Of, graphite). Verso: "G. O'Keeffe / 10-10-28" (yellow paint) (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Verso, backing, and frame not inspected for markings. Removed labels from previous backing board: Label (square, white) inscribed in black ink: ""An American Place"" / 509 Madison Avenue / New York -- N.Y. // [line] // Georgia O'Keeffe", inscribed top-right, in graphite: "13 [underlined]", inscribed left-middle, in graphite: "R9550/54 / 173.49 / 49.575", inscribed bottom-right, in black ballpoint pen: "49.575"; label (rectangular, white) printed in black ink: “THE / INTIMATE / GALLERY / ROOM 303 / ANDERSON GALLERIES BUILDING / 489 PARK AVENUE AT FIFTY-NINTH STREET, NEW YORK / announces its Sixteenth Exhibition – Feb. 4 to March 16, 1929 / FORTY NEW PAINTINGS BY GEORGIA O’KEEFFE”, inscribed top, in black ink: “Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy [underlined] / (oil on canvas) by Georgia O'Keeffe [underlined]”, inscribed left-middle, in black ink: “signed on / back of canvas”; label (rectangular, white) printed in black ink: “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / SHIPPING ROOM / CONDITION OF CONTENTS // DATE”, inscribed in graphite: “May 18-42” / printed: “R. O. No. / BOX No / REG. No / No. OF ITEMS / SIGNED BY”, inscribed in graphite: “Miles” / printed: “5000—8-26”, column break, printed: “THE ITEMS CHECKED BELOW WERE DAM- / AGED AS NOTED / SCULPTURE / CANVAS / FRAME”, inscribed: “4 corners marked.” / printed: “GLASS”; label (rectangular, white) printed and typed in black ink: “Fasten on back of work in upper left hand corner / THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / EXHIBITION GEORGIA O’KEEFFE / DATES JAN. FEB. 1943 / ARTIST GEORGIA O’KEEFFE / TITLE YELLOW HICKORY LEAVES WITH DAISY, 1928. / OWNER GEORGIA O’KEEFFE / OWNER’S ADDRESS Room 1710 / 509 MADISON AVENUE” / inscribed in black ink: “New York – N.Y.”; stamp (square, white, 4 perforated sides) printed and typed in black ink: “Museum of Modern Art / LOAN / 46.729 / O’Keeffe”; stamped in black ink: “GEORGIA O’KEEFFE / AN AMERICAN PLACE / ROOM 1710-509 MADISON AVE. / NEW YORK. – N. Y.”; label (rectangular, white) printed in black ink: “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / CHICAGO 3, ILLINOIS, U.S.A. // To” / typed in black ink: “GEORGIA O’KEEFFE / American, 1887 - // YELLOW HICKORY LEAVES WITH DAISY, 1928 // Georgia O’Keeffe / 1965.1180”; label (rectangular, white, with a blue line border) inscribed in black ink: “Yellow Hickory Leaves / with Daisy 1928 / by Georgia O’Keeffe” / stamped in black ink: “AN AMERICAN PLACE / ROOM 1710 – 509 MADISON AVE. / NEW YORK, - N. Y.”; label (rectangular, white) printed in black ink: “THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO / SHIPPING ROOM / CONDITION OF CONTENTS // DATE”, inscribed in graphite: “May 18-42” / printed: “R. O. No. / BOX No”, inscribed: “2” / printed: REG. No / No. OF ITEMS”, inscribed: “6” / printed: SIGNED BY”, inscribed: “Geo [Loach]” / printed: “5000—8-26”, column break, printed: “THE ITEMS CHECKED BELOW WERE DAM- / AGED AS NOTED / SCULPTURE / CANVAS” / inscribed: “Canvas cracked & / splintered” / printed: “FRAME / GLASS”. (Source: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025)

Technique

Oil Painting

Materials

Oil on canvas

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), New York and New Mexico, then Abiquiú, NM, from 1949 [on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago from 1949; letter from O’Keeffe to Daniel Catton Rich, Dec. 27, 1965; copy in curatorial object file]; given through the Alfred Stieglitz Collection to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1965. (Source: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025)

Credits & Rights

© Art Institute of Chicago

Administrative Information

Version History

Core fields last updated 5/5/2026

Last verified by current collection Dec 10 2025

Source System ID

8703

Other IDs

642, Catalogue Raisonné

Conservation

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

Information provided for Access O'Keeffe by Art Institute of Chicago in 2025.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

The painting is executed on pre-primed linen canvas (flax identified by polarized light microscopy) with a white preparation. The ground was examined in 1987 in conjunction with the treatment of that year and found to be a double layer preparation. Electron microprobe analysis indicated that the lower layer contains primarily titanium dioxide, with minor amounts of other inorganic compounds, while the top layer is more medium-rich and contains calcium sulfate, probably in the form of gypsum, as the main inorganic component, with a smaller amount of titanium dioxide (analytical data on file in the Conservation and Science Department, Art Institute of Chicago). Infrared imaging reveals some underdrawing is present. While some drawing lines appear to be done in graphite, others look more like black chalk or charcoal. In stereomicroscopic examination, several areas along the edges of forms show paint with black particles presumably from the underdrawing that have been swept into the paint layer. Ultraviolet and visible-induced luminescence imaging suggest the pigment used for the bulk of the bright yellow leaves is cadmium yellow based on its characteristic luminescence. The painting was left unvarnished by the artist and is signed and dated with yellow paint on the canvas verso. The work is currently undergoing further examination and treatment (2025).

CONDITION NARRATIVE

The paint layers and ground are thin, matte, and prone to cleavage. There is widespread cupping, cracking and spalling at the thread-tops, the latter is the eventual result of interlayer blind cleavage which is also widespread and appears to be related to a lack of adhesion between the ground layers. In some areas, losses penetrate to the canvas, suggesting additional adhesion issues between the canvas and ground. The painting was consolidated in 1983, 1987, 1993, 2005, and 2019 and is currently undergoing examination and treatment (2025). Aside from the many consolidants present there is no overall varnish layer nor record of previous treatment. The painting is housed in the artist-commissioned thin-profile metal frame with a brass-tone finish.