New Mexico became Georgia O'Keeffe's lifelong artistic home after her first visits there in 1929.
O'Keeffe traveled to New Mexico in the summer of 1929 and was captivated by its stark landscapes, adobe buildings, mountains, bones, and intense light. These subjects became central to her art and public image.
She initially divided her time between New York and New Mexico. In 1949, three years after Alfred Stieglitz died, she moved permanently to the state. She lived and worked in Abiquiú and later maintained a home at Ghost Ranch.
New Mexico is sometimes confused with Arizona because both states are associated with desert scenery and Southwestern art. O'Keeffe's signature locations, including the Cerro Pedernal and her Abiquiú home, are in New Mexico. The state’s visual culture became a defining source rather than a temporary travel subject.