# Long-Lost Georgia O'Keeffe Painting Discovered in East Village Closet to Be Offered at Christie's New York

- Published: 2026-11-15
- Source: Christie's (Auction House)
- Event date: 2026-11-17
- Category: Auction Result
- Cities: New York
- Original release: https://press.christies.com/long-lost-georgia-okeeffe-painting-recently-discovered-in-an-east-village-closet-to-be-offered-and-exhibited-at-christies-new-york/
- Canonical: https://culturalsignal.com/long-lost-georgia-okeeffe-painting-discovered-in-east-village-closet-to-be-offered-at-christies-new-york

## The Facts

Christie's announced the rediscovery of Georgia O'Keeffe's 1930 painting "Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I," which was found in an East Village apartment closet earlier this year. The work, estimated in the region of $3 million, will be offered during Christie's 20th Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2026, at 20 Rockefeller Center. It will be publicly exhibited for the first time in at least three decades from November 7 to November 17. The painting was a graduation gift purchased for $3,800 in 1963 from O'Keeffe's dealer, The Downtown Gallery, and had been stored in its original box since the mid-1980s after the owner grew concerned about a guest's interest during a bridge game. The owner, who passed away shortly after revealing the work to her niece, had kept it hidden from family. The painting only appeared in an appendix of O'Keeffe's catalogue raisonné, known previously only through a 1931 photograph.

## The Signal

The discovery underscores the rarity of finding significant, well-documented works by canonical American artists like O'Keeffe, whose market remains robust and closely tracked by collectors. The painting's emergence from a private closet after decades—and its direct provenance from the artist's dealer—adds a compelling narrative that could drive strong bidding. For collectors, this represents a singular opportunity to acquire a previously unlocatable piece from a pivotal period in O'Keeffe's career, when she was deeply engaged with the New Mexico landscape. Christie's inclusion of the work in its Marquee Week, alongside collections of Clive Davis and others, signals the house's strategy of pairing high-profile rediscoveries with established estates to generate market excitement.

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