Georgia O'Keeffe spent much of her later life in New Mexico.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917, when she traveled there during the summer. The region’s mountains, desert forms, adobe buildings, bones, and broad skies became major subjects in her work. She returned repeatedly and eventually divided her time between New York and New Mexico before settling there permanently.
Her New Mexico imagery includes the cliffs and formations around Ghost Ranch, the village of Abiquiú, and the surrounding high desert. These subjects were not simply tourist views; O'Keeffe transformed them into simplified, intensely composed paintings that helped define her mature style.
People sometimes assume that O'Keeffe was born in New Mexico because of her close association with the state. In fact, she was born in Wisconsin. New Mexico became her artistic home later and remained central to her identity until her death in Santa Fe in 1986.