Ghost Ranch became one of Georgia O'Keeffe's best-known homes and artistic subjects.
O'Keeffe first visited the area in northern New Mexico in 1934 and returned repeatedly. She rented a house at Ghost Ranch beginning in 1936 and later acquired it. The dramatic cliffs, mesas, and broad skies supplied recurring forms for her paintings.
Ghost Ranch lies near Abiquiu, about 55 miles north of Santa Fe. O'Keeffe often walked through the surrounding landscape, collecting bones and studying rock formations. Her paintings transformed these specific features into simplified, monumental compositions.
Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu are related but not interchangeable. O'Keeffe maintained separate residences at the two locations, and both influenced her work. The ranch was also a dude ranch and later became an education and retreat center, while O'Keeffe's former house at Ghost Ranch is associated especially with her years of working in the surrounding desert.