Ghost Ranch became a major New Mexico home and subject for Georgia O'Keeffe.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1929 and returned regularly for decades. She was drawn to the region’s high desert, cliffs, adobe buildings, and unusually clear light. Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiú, became especially important during the 1930s. Its dramatic formations supplied motifs for paintings such as Ranchos Church, New Mexico and Red and Yellow Cliffs.
The area had a much longer history before O'Keeffe arrived. Ghost Ranch sits in a landscape shaped by erosion and was later associated with a dude ranch operated by Arthur Newton Pack. Today it is a retreat and education center run by the Presbyterian Church, and its scenery remains recognizable to visitors familiar with O'Keeffe’s work.
O'Keeffe also maintained a house in the nearby village of Abiquiú. Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú are related but not identical places, a distinction that often causes confusion. Together, they represent the New Mexico landscapes most closely associated with her artistic identity.