Georgia O'Keeffe made many of her best-known paintings in the Ghost Ranch region of northern New Mexico. Its dramatic cliffs, mesas, bones, and expansive skies became recurring subjects in her work.
O'Keeffe first encountered the area during visits to New Mexico in the 1930s. She was attracted to its distinctive geology and often explored the landscape alone, translating particular shapes into simplified, monumental compositions. The ranch lies near Abiquiú, where she later maintained a home.
Ghost Ranch is sometimes confused with O'Keeffe’s Abiquiú residence or with the wider American Southwest. They are connected but not identical: Ghost Ranch is a landscape area, while Abiquiú was one of her homes. The region’s red and yellow cliffs helped establish the visual identity most associated with her New Mexico paintings.