The Calla flower became even more alluring after Sigmund Freud interpreted its form as having “masculine” and “feminine” features. This lit up artists all over the globe. Always a brilliant marketer, Georgia O’Keeffe turned to the “sexual” Calla to make her famous. She painted the Calla for most of the rest of her life.
O’Keeffe’s earliest calla lily paintings date to 1923 and generally represent a single bloom against a dark, monochromatic background. As O’Keeffe remarked on the subject: “People think I must have a passion for the calla lily because I have used it so much in my work. . . . As a matter of fact, I haven’t at all. I started to paint it out of curiosity because I wanted to find out why some people hated it so much, and others loved it.” She said she never felt the sexual atmosphere that surrounded the Calla, but the Calla was very good to her.
I am one of those people who fell in love with the Calla when I got serious about flower photos a few years ago. I never quite got the sexual features of the Calla Freud talked about, but there is something exotic and unique about their form and grace. They touch me in a way no other flower or plant does, and today, a new one I bought online arrived, and I spent most of the afternoon with it. I hope you value this flower as much as I do. All of these photos are from the new Calla. You will be seeing it regularly here if it matters.
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