Ghost Ranch inspired Georgia O'Keeffe's series of New Mexico cliffs and ranch landscapes.
Ghost Ranch is a retreat and education center near Abiquiú in northern New Mexico. O'Keeffe first visited the area in the 1930s and repeatedly painted its dramatic cliffs, mesas, and desert surroundings. The landscape became one of the defining subjects of her later work.
She was especially drawn to the changing light and strong geological forms. Paintings associated with the area helped establish the visual language many viewers now connect with O'Keeffe: simplified shapes, intense colors, open space, and a close attention to the structure of the land.
Ghost Ranch and Abiquiú are nearby but not interchangeable. Abiquiú was the site of her home and studio, while Ghost Ranch was the distinctive landscape and retreat property that supplied many of her subjects.