What New Mexico region became a major subject of Georgia O'Keeffe’s art?

Ghost Ranch became a major subject of Georgia O'Keeffe’s art.

Ghost Ranch is a dramatic area in northern New Mexico, near Abiquiu, known for brightly colored cliffs, mesas, and broad desert views. O'Keeffe first visited the region in the 1930s and repeatedly returned to paint its geological formations. The landscape offered her a powerful alternative to the urban settings associated with her early New York career.

She often isolated a cliff, bone, or section of terrain rather than presenting a conventional panoramic view. Her paintings of the area translated rock formations into simplified shapes and intense fields of color. The result was not topographical illustration but a highly personal interpretation of place.

Ghost Ranch is sometimes confused with Taos, another important New Mexico art center. O'Keeffe did visit and work in northern New Mexico more broadly, but Ghost Ranch is especially associated with the cliffs and landscapes that recur in her paintings.