They were made after O'Keeffe moved with her new husband into an apartment on the 30th floor of the Shelton Hotel, which gave her expansive views of all but the west side of the city.

In November 1925, O'Keeffe moved into one of New York City's tallest skyscrapers, the Shelton Hotel, with her husband of one year, Alfred Stieglitz.

An abstract painting made of rectangles and circles, it unifies the man-made skyscraper and the natural effect of glaring sunlight and sunspots against the building.

The skyscrapers in the painting converge vertically, creating a cavernous image[5] with simple geometric shapes.

[6] "With the eyes of a modernist, she has simplified the internal articulation of these behemoths, thus emphasizing their dark, vertical silhouettes against the deep blue sky," states art historian Eleanor Tufts.

Beyond the Manhattan skyline and the East River, factories in Queens emit smoke, creating a smoggy atmosphere and a dismal image.

[1] O'Keeffe stopped depicting New York's skyscrapers and its cityscape in 1929, when she went to Mabel Dodge Luhan's ranch in Taos, New Mexico and developed an interest in making paintings of the Southwest.