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Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Access O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Crab's Claw Ginger Hawaii, 1939
Image: okeeffe_CR963_crabs-claw-ginger-hawaii_794775.jpg
Georgia O'Keeffe
Crab's Claw Ginger Hawaii, 1939
Oil on canvas, 19 x 16 inches
CR No. 963
Oil on canvas, 19 x 16 inches
Collection:Private Collection
CR No. 963

The bright red bracts of a crab's claw plant extend outward from its center. These fluted forms have bright green edges, contrasting with the seascape's blue and white tones that form the work's background. A large green leaf fills the left side of the composition.

CR No. 963

Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Crab's Claw Ginger Hawaii

Source of title: verso inscription.

Alternate Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Heleconia – Crab's Claw Ginger

Source of title: Downtown Gallery Archive.

Heliconia

Source of title: Whitney Archive, Downtown Gallery Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks.

General Remarks

Double entries Downtown Gallery Archive. Whitney Archive indicates, "Sold to Dole Pineapple Co." Reproduced as advertisement for Dole Pineapple Juice in various publications, such as Saturday Evening Post (April 1940) McCall's (May 1940); Vogue (February 1941). See cat. no. 1925. (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Inscriptions

Verso: "Crabs Claw Ginger / Hawaii 1939 / Georgia O'Keeffe" (white paint) (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Technique

Oil Painting

Materials

Oil on canvas

The Dole Pineapple Company, New York, NY, by commission, 1939; Mr. and Mrs. N. Rosenwald, New York, NY, 1976; Harold Diamond, New York, NY, 1976; Donald Morris Gallery, Inc., Birmingham, Michigan, 1976; Private collection, Toledo, Ohio, 1976; (Donald Morris Gallery, Inc., Birmingham, Michigan); Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1987; Private collection, Sun Valley, Idaho, 1987; (Gail Severn Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho); Private collection, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1988 (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Credits & Rights

© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Administrative Information

Version History

Core fields last updated 4/22/2026

Source System ID

8918

Other IDs

963, Catalogue Raisonné