Ghost Ranch became a major subject of Georgia O'Keeffe's art after she first visited it in 1934.
The northern New Mexico landscape offered dramatic cliffs, changing light, broad skies, and distinctive geological forms. O'Keeffe repeatedly painted the area, translating its red and ochre terrain into simplified, highly personal compositions.
Ghost Ranch was near Abiquiú, where O'Keeffe later established a permanent home. The landscape around the ranch and her Abiquiú house became closely connected with her artistic identity, although she also painted other parts of New Mexico.
Ghost Ranch is sometimes confused with Taos, another important New Mexico art center. They are different places. O'Keeffe's repeated attention to Ghost Ranch helped make its cliffs and mesas recognizable far beyond the region.