Why does Blue, Black and Grey look abstract even though it was based on a real view?

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Alfred Stieglitz: photograph of Georgia O'Keeffe — Georgia O’Keeffe Georgia O'Keeffe, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, 1922.

The painting Blue, Black and Grey (1960) is perceived as an abstract work because it depicts configurations of sky, land, and water as observed from the unique perspective of an airplane window.1

Although the painting appears abstract to viewers, it is not a non-representational work; rather, it depicts what Georgia O’Keeffe actually saw during her travels. By capturing these vast, high-altitude views, O’Keeffe rendered natural landscapes as abstract shapes, continuing her long-standing exploration of the abstract language she first identified in the 1910s. This approach reflects her ability to find inherently abstract qualities within real-world subjects, allowing her to bridge the gap between realistic observation and abstract expression.1