Georgia O'Keeffe used the name Ghost Ranch for the New Mexico area where she lived and painted near Abiquiu.
Ghost Ranch is a dramatic landscape in northern New Mexico, known for red cliffs, mesas, and broad desert views. O'Keeffe first visited the area in 1934 and began spending part of each year there. The scenery became a major source for her paintings, including views of cliffs, hills, bones, and the surrounding high desert.
The name “Ghost Ranch” was already associated with the property before O'Keeffe’s arrival. It developed from the Spanish name “Rancho de los Brujos,” or “Ranch of the Witches,” and from stories about cattle rustlers and the area’s remote reputation. O'Keeffe did not invent the name, although her paintings made the landscape internationally recognizable.
Ghost Ranch is near Abiquiu but is not the same place as O'Keeffe’s adobe home in the village. She later acquired and restored a house in Abiquiu, where she lived for many years. The two locations are often discussed together because both shaped her New Mexico work.