Apple Blossoms is one of more than 200 paintings of flowers Georgia O'Keeffe created. Characteristically, she asserted the abstract qualities of her subject by painting it close to the surface of the picture plane, a technique that isolates the blossoms from their larger environment. This ensures that they are disconnected from narrative and imbues them with an iconic presence.
While O'Keeffe resented autobiographical interpretations of her art, she identified personally with apples. Her husband, photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz, photographed her with apple trees at their summer home at Lake George, New York, where she likely painted Apple Blossoms. Furthermore, Stieglitz thought of himself as a gardener cultivating his talented wife to produce the "fruit" of great American art.
