Abiquiú became Georgia O'Keeffe's principal New Mexico home and artistic base.
O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917 and returned regularly for many years. The region’s cliffs, bones, adobe buildings, and broad desert spaces supplied subjects that became central to her visual vocabulary. In 1949, she moved permanently to New Mexico.
Her Abiquiú home included a distinctive adobe house and a garden wall with a famous door. She painted that door repeatedly, turning an architectural detail into a major motif. The property is now preserved as part of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum’s historic sites.
O'Keeffe also lived and worked at Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiú. The two places are sometimes confused: Ghost Ranch was an important retreat and source of imagery, while Abiquiú was her long-term home and studio base.