Georgia O'Keeffe moved permanently to New Mexico in 1949 after years of summer visits.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1929 and returned for many summers during the 1930s and 1940s. She was drawn to its broad skies, adobe architecture, desert plants, bones, cliffs, and distinctive light. These subjects became central to her art and expanded her public image beyond the flower paintings associated with her New York years.
After Alfred Stieglitz died in 1946, O'Keeffe moved to New Mexico permanently in 1949. She divided her life between Abiquiú and Ghost Ranch, later making Abiquiú her principal home. The move allowed her to work directly within the environment that had shaped so much of her mature imagery.
The date is sometimes confused with 1929, the year of her first New Mexico visit, or with the late 1930s, when she was already spending substantial time there. Permanent residence came later. New Mexico was not simply a backdrop in her work; it became a long-term source of subjects, forms, and personal identity.