Shelton Hotel, New York, No. 1 - Georgia O'Keeffe

A modernist study of the Shelton Hotel in New York, capturing the geometric precision and imposing scale of the 1920s city skyline.

In 1926, Georgia O'Keeffe produced this depiction of the Shelton Hotel, a structure that dominated the New York City skyline at the time. Having moved into the hotel with her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, in 1925, O'Keeffe found herself captivated by the geometry of the urban environment. This work captures the building from a low vantage point, looking upward to emphasise its verticality and mass.

The composition relies on a simplified, almost abstract treatment of the architecture. O'Keeffe strips away extraneous detail, focusing instead on the rhythmic repetition of the windows and the stepped-back form of the skyscraper. The palette is restrained, utilising muted ochres and greys to convey the texture of brick and stone against the sky. By flattening the perspective, she transforms the building into a series of interlocking planes, a technique that aligns with the Precisionist movement of the era.

Unlike the romanticised depictions of the city common in the early twentieth century, this painting presents the skyscraper as a stark, imposing object. The light source is ambiguous, creating long, angular shadows that frame the central structure. This approach reflects O'Keeffe's interest in the structural logic of her subjects, whether she was painting desert bones or city towers. The work remains a clear example of her ability to distil complex forms into their essential components, creating a visual language that is both disciplined and direct. The print captures the subtle tonal shifts of the original oil paint, maintaining the clean lines and the sense of scale that define this period of her career.