Ghost Ranch became a major source of Georgia O'Keeffe's New Mexico landscape paintings.
O'Keeffe first visited northern New Mexico in 1917 and returned regularly during the 1920s and 1930s. Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiú, became especially important because of its dramatic cliffs, mesas, and vivid colors. She later described the area as one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen.
Her paintings of the region transformed recognizable geological forms into simplified, often monumental compositions. Works associated with Ghost Ranch include Red Hills and Black, White and Blue Landscape. The landscapes were not simple topographical records; O'Keeffe emphasized shape, scale, and color.
Taos is another New Mexico art center linked with O'Keeffe, but Ghost Ranch is the specific landscape area most closely identified with her long-running northern New Mexico inspiration.