Ghost Ranch became a major subject of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings after 1929. The dramatic landscape in northern New Mexico provided cliffs, mesas, and changing light that matched her interest in simplified natural forms.
O’Keeffe first visited the area in 1934 and later spent increasing amounts of time there. She painted the surrounding terrain repeatedly, including the distinctive red hills and a formation she called Pedernal. Ghost Ranch became one of the most recognizable landscapes associated with her mature work.
Ghost Ranch is near Abiquiu, but it is not the same place as the historic adobe house O’Keeffe restored there. Taos Pueblo and White Sands are also important New Mexico landmarks, yet neither is the region identified with this major body of O’Keeffe’s landscape paintings.