Ghost Ranch became Georgia O'Keeffe's best-known home and artistic setting in New Mexico. She first visited the area in 1934 and was drawn to its dramatic cliffs, arid colors, and distinctive geological forms.
O'Keeffe rented and later owned a house at Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiú. The landscape supplied recurring subjects for her paintings, including hills, bones, trees, and expansive views. She often worked outdoors and transformed recognizable scenery into highly simplified compositions.
Ghost Ranch is sometimes mixed up with O'Keeffe's house in the nearby village of Abiquiú. They were separate places: Ghost Ranch was her remote northern retreat, while the Abiquiú property became her year-round home after she acquired it in 1945. Both landscapes are central to her New Mexico story.