Ghost Ranch became Georgia O'Keeffe's famous summer home and studio in New Mexico.
O'Keeffe began visiting Ghost Ranch in 1934 and acquired a house there in 1940. The area, near Abiquiú, offered dramatic cliffs, open desert, and strong changes of light. She repeatedly painted its landscape, including the wall and hills that surrounded her home. The setting became one of the most recognizable environments in her work.
Ghost Ranch is not the same place as O'Keeffe's later main residence in the village of Abiquiú. She owned and used both locations, but Ghost Ranch is especially associated with her summer life and with the red-and-yellow landscape visible in many paintings.
The name can also cause confusion because Ghost Ranch is a larger historic property and retreat area, not merely the name of one building. O'Keeffe's house there is part of the broader landscape that shaped her New Mexico imagery.