Here we find a series of rough squares, akin to a natural formation that the artist might have come across whilst living out in rural USA. Untitled (Sacsayhuaman) received a sale price of $32,500 which was actually well above the original valuation. The sale was made at Sotheby's auction house as recently as 2020, and was a part of a larger sale that included many other drawings by Georgia O'Keeffe as well as a number of related painters and photographers. The item was listed as being pencil on paper from 1956 and it was featured within her catalogue raisonne that recently received a revised version. Such an inclusion would always help to increase the value of lesser known artworks such as this.

O'Keeffe was introduced to the techniques of drawing from a young age, very early in her development as an artist. She would study simple objects as a means to understand the basics of art, which includes being able to see elements very carefully. It would be some time before she moved on into oils, and even then she would continue to use drawing as a means to prepare for major artworks. Art students are normally given drawing tasks to begin with and so this path was nothing new, but it is interesting that she continued to draw artworks as her main interest for several years after graduating, even though she could have changed course straight away if she so wished. It was only later that oils brought about some of her more famous, bright artworks, many of which captured details within oversized flower heads.

Art history has delivered many big names who were highly accomplished draughtsman, with these skills laying behind their success in other mediums. Drawing can help an artist to plan both paintings and sculptures, and often you will find lines of pencil or charcoal on the under layers of many famous artworks. One of the finest of all was Rembrandt van Rijn, whose drawings included the likes of Old Man Reading a Book, Study of the legs of a seated woman and The Raising of the Cross. The Dutchman would go on to innovate within etching and his talents as a draughtsman were particularly key to that. His paintings are also amongst the most technically impressive in the history of art.