Which New Mexico adobe building did Georgia O'Keeffe paint repeatedly after seeing it from a distance?

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Georgia O'Keeffe repeatedly painted the Ranchos de Taos church after seeing its rear wall from a distance. The building is the San Francisco de Asís Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.

The church's massive adobe forms attracted O'Keeffe because they combined architecture, landscape, light, and sculptural shape. Her paintings do not always show the complete building in a straightforward architectural view; instead, she isolated walls and forms to create compositions with strong geometric presence.

The church was built between 1772 and 1816 and remains an important example of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico. O'Keeffe's paintings helped make it one of the most recognized structures associated with American modernism and the artistic history of the Southwest.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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