New Mexico became Georgia O'Keeffe's permanent home after she moved there in 1949.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917 and returned repeatedly during the 1920s and 1930s. She was drawn to the region's intense light, desert colors, cliffs, bones, flowers, and architectural forms. These subjects became among the most recognizable elements of her mature work.
After Alfred Stieglitz died in 1946, O'Keeffe moved permanently from New York to New Mexico in 1949. She divided her time between Abiquiú and Ghost Ranch, and later lived in Santa Fe. Paintings such as those based on the cliffs around Ghost Ranch and the door of her Abiquiú home helped establish a distinctive Southwestern phase in her art.
New Mexico is sometimes confused with Arizona because both states are associated with the American Southwest. O'Keeffe's documented homes and studios, however, were in New Mexico. Her Abiquiú home is now preserved as a National Historic Landmark and is managed for public visits by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.