Green Mountains, Canada

In this panoramic landscape, Georgia O’Keeffe captured the massive Gaspé Peninsula mountains in Quebec, Canada, as they rise sharply from the water’s edge. O’Keeffe traveled to the region in the summer of 1932, accompanied by fellow artist (and husband Alfred Stieglitz’s niece) Georgia Engelhard. The old barns and crosses built by the Peninsula’s French settlers fascinated O’Keeffe, as did the lush green terrain. She painted the mountains and sun-streaked sky with texture and depth, while the water in the foreground moves in flat, zig-zag swaths that accentuate color over representational depth. Although she enjoyed her trip to Canada, and returned again that year, ultimately O’Keeffe preferred the New Mexican landscape, specifically its brilliant sunshine.