The Georgia O’Keeffe museum in New Mexico sold Jimson Weed at Sotheby’s today and got a huge surprise:

Sotheby’s New York auction of American Art, Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flower painting Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 achieved a remarkable $44,405,000, more than three times the previous world auction record for any female artist*. Seven bidders immediately jumped into the fray, but it was a prolonged battle between two determined bidders that drove the price to this record height – nearly three times its high estimate of $15 million

The New York Times adds this interesting bit of price history:

Sotheby’s sold the painting twice before, first in 1987, when it was included in property from the estate of the artist’s sister and went for $990,000, and again in 1994, for $1 million.

A White Flower by O’Keeffe Blooms Green: $44.4 Million  (NYTimes.com)