The bridge itself is an iconic piece of architecture which has inspired many artists and photographers over the years, though this interpretation was unusual. O'Keeffe allows us to view the scene through twin arches and does so in order to produce a symbolic reference to her own life at that time, as she was relocating elsewhere. Perhaps this window-like view captures her looking out towards her future life, though most viewers of this piece will merely consider it a portrait of the bridge from an imaginative angle. The artist would move from New York to New Mexico and may have been anxious in the days leading up to the move but it would ultimately inspire whole bodies of new work.
This artist would mainly work with pencil and charcoal as a draughtsman, and it would be these mediums that helped her to achieve her initial success. O'Keeffe is, of course, far more famous today for her work with bright tones of oil but even her more subdued drawings indicated her early potential. Although her drawings were not given much exposure initially, the majority of them have since made it into her catalogue raisonne which has attempted to bring together all confirmed artworks from across her career. A revised version was released as recently as 1999 and it remains the most accurate and comprehensive review of her oeuvre.
As with most study drawings, only some elements of the composition are completed. The artist gives an approximation as to how the light would be angled across this piece and the cables which hold things in place are only roughly drawn in. It is quite conceivable that this untitled artwork was completed within an hour, and may never have been intended for public consumption. Most of her sketches such as this were gifted to friends or simply remained within her possession until her death. A fantastic museum was set up in her name and this displays some of the items that she cherished the most of all. Others will come up for auction from time to time and this ensures that her career records occasionally are updated with new items which had previously been unknown to the art world.