Georgia O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1929.
O'Keeffe traveled to New Mexico in the summer of 1929 with her friend Rebecca Strand, the wife of photographer Paul Strand. The trip introduced her to the landscapes, architecture, bones, and religious objects that became defining subjects in her later work. She returned repeatedly and eventually made New Mexico her principal home.
The region offered a sharp contrast to New York City, where she had lived and worked during much of the 1920s. O'Keeffe was particularly drawn to the stark forms and intense light of northern New Mexico. She often worked from places around Taos, Abiquiú, and Ghost Ranch, although she did not treat the landscape as merely a backdrop.
The date is sometimes confused with 1934, when she first visited Ghost Ranch, or 1945, when she purchased her Abiquiú house. Those were later milestones. Her first visit to New Mexico occurred in 1929, beginning a relationship with the region that continued for the rest of her life.