Ghost Ranch became Georgia O'Keeffe's best-known New Mexico home and source of inspiration.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917 and returned regularly from 1929 onward. She was drawn to the region's cliffs, deserts, bones, and intense light, which became recurring subjects in her paintings. Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiu, provided the dramatic landscape that appears in many of her later works.
O'Keeffe also owned a house in the village of Abiquiu, which she acquired in 1945 after renting it for years. Ghost Ranch and Abiquiu are related but distinct places, so they are sometimes confused. The ranch was especially associated with her landscape imagery, while the Abiquiu home became her permanent base after she moved there in 1949.