New Mexico became Georgia O'Keeffe's best-known artistic setting after her first visit there in 1929. She was drawn to the region's unusual rock formations, broad skies, bones, flowers, adobe architecture, and intense light.
O'Keeffe spent part of almost every year in New Mexico after that first visit. Her paintings of the landscape helped make its forms recognizable to international audiences, while the region gave her a setting far removed from the New York art world.
She eventually settled permanently in New Mexico. Her homes and studios at Abiquiú and Ghost Ranch are closely associated with her mature work, although she continued to travel and maintained important ties to New York for many years.