Collections: American Art: Brooklyn Bridge

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This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Brooklyn Bridge

Embraced as a symbol of modern, urban life and technological progress, the Brooklyn Bridge became a popular subject for artists and writers from the moment of its completion in 1883. Georgia O'Keeffe's forceful interpretation of the bridge, one of the last works that she painted in New York before her permanent relocation to New Mexico in 1949, is considered her farewell to the city where she had lived and worked for many years. O'Keeffe's particular modernist vision emphasized essential aspects of form, resulting in a pared-down but intensified vision of her subjects. Her focus here was the Gothic-style arches of the massive bridge tower, and the arcing lines of the supporting cables, that proclaim this vast utilitarian structure a kind of American cathedral.


• Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe, American, 1887-1986
• Medium: Oil on masonite
• Dates: 1949
• Dimensions: 47 15/16 x 35 7/8 in. (121.8 x 91 cm)
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, Orientation Gallery, 5th Floor
• Accession Number: 77.11
• Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Childs Draper
• Image: Overall, 77.11_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Georgia O'Keeffe (American, 1887-1986). Brooklyn Bridge, 1949. Oil on masonite, 47 15/16 x 35 7/8 in. (121.8 x 91 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Mary Childs Draper, 77.11 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 77.11_SL1.jpg)