Ghost Ranch became Georgia O'Keeffe's home and a recurring source of subjects in northern New Mexico. She first visited the area in the 1930s and was captivated by its cliffs, arroyos, bones, and broad desert light.
O'Keeffe acquired a house at Ghost Ranch in 1940. The dramatic red and yellow formations of the area appeared in numerous paintings, including works based on the nearby cliffs and the landscape known as the “White Place.” The ranch offered a setting different from her house in the village of Abiquiú.
Ghost Ranch is sometimes treated as another name for Abiquiú, but they are separate locations in the same general region. The ranch is now known as an education and retreat center in New Mexico, while O'Keeffe's Abiquiú home is preserved as a historic site. Both places were important to her later life and work.