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Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Access O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
It Was a Man and a Pot, 1942
Courtesy of Crocker Art Museum.
Image: okeeffe_CR1037_it-was-a-man-and-a-pot_858956.jpg
Georgia O'Keeffe
It Was a Man and a Pot, 1942
Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
CR No. 1037
Crocker Art Museum Purchase with matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts
Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
Crocker Art Museum Purchase with matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts
CR No. 1037

The back of a human skull is visible at the center of the composition. Behind and encircling the skull is a partially shattered, greenish-black ceramic pot. Patches of orange and blue surround the objects, forming a textured background.

CR No. 1037

Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

It Was a Man and a Pot

Source of title: backing inscription, Whitney Archive, Abiquiú Notebooks.

Alternate Title (1999 Catalogue Raisonné)

Head with Broken Pot #2

Source of title: Downtown Gallery Archive.

General Remarks

Backing inscription in museum files: "'It Was a Man and a Pot'/1942" (Andrew Droth, graphite). Whitney Archive indicates, "Exam. at Amer. Place, April 1946" [notes backing inscription]. The skull was given to O'Keeffe by her friend John Candelaria, on basis of Stieglitz–O'Keeffe correspondence. See cat. no. 1046. (Source: Lynes, 1999)

Inscriptions

On verso, Signed: Signed Dated: Dated Description: Mark reads: "It was a Man and a Pot / 1942" also signed. (Source: Crocker Art Museum, 2025)

Technique

Oil Painting

Materials

Oil on canvas

[Not provided by contributing organization as part of the 2025 catalogue review.]

Credits & Rights

© Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Administrative Information

Version History

Core fields last updated 6/10/2026

Last verified by current collection Sep 03 2025

Source System ID

8958

Other IDs

1037, Catalogue Raisonné

Conservation

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

Published with corresponding artwork entry in Georgia O’Keeffe: Catalogue Raisonné (Lynes, 1999), this historical conservation information documents treatment decisions made during the artist’s lifetime. Lynes quotes information found on backing labels, and, when noted, from other sources.

CONDITION NARRATIVE

"Treated 8/63 Co polymer iso and n-butyl methacrylate 2219" (Fine Arts Conservation Laboratories typed label).