Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
197
Georgia O'Keeffe & New Mexico: A Desert
Romance
In June 1917, during a short visit to the Southwest, the painter Georgia
O'Keeffe (born 1887) visited New Mexico for the first time. She was immedi-
ately enchanted by the stark scenery; even after her return to the energy and
chaos of New York City, her mind wandered frequently to New Mexico's
arid land and undulating mesas. However, not until coaxed by the arts
patron and “collector of people” Mabel Dodge Luhan 12 years later did O'Keeffe
return to the multihued desert of her daydreams.
O'Keeffe was reportedly ill, both physically and emotionally, when she
arrived in Santa Fe in April 1929. New Mexico seemed to soothe her spirit and
heal her physical ailments almost magically. Two days after her arrival, Mabel
Dodge Luhan persuaded O'Keeffe to move into her home in Taos. There, she
would be free to paint and socialize as she liked.
In Taos, O'Keeffe began painting what would become some of her best-
known canvases—close-ups of desert flowers and objects such as cow and
horse skulls. “The color up there is different . . . the blue-green of the sage and
the mountains, the wildflowers in bloom,” O'Keeffe once said of Taos. “It's a dif-
ferent kind of color from any I've ever seen—there's nothing like that in north
Texas or even in Colorado.” Taos transformed not only her art but her personal-
ity as well. She bought a car and learned to drive. Sometimes, on warm days,
she ran naked through the sage fields. That August, a new, rejuvenated
O'Keeffe rejoined her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, in New York.
The artist returned to New Mexico year after year, spending time with Mabel
Dodge Luhan as well as staying at the isolated Ghost Ranch. She drove through
the countryside in her snappy Ford, stopping to paint in her favorite spots
along the way. Until 1949, O'Keeffe always returned to New York in the fall.
Three years after Stieglitz's death, though, she relocated permanently to New
Mexico, spending each winter and spring in Abiquiu and each summer and fall
at Ghost Ranch. Georgia O'Keeffe died in Santa Fe in 1986.
A great way to see Ghost Ranch is on a hike that climbs above the mystical
area. Take US 84 north from Española about 36 miles to Ghost Ranch and follow
the road to the Ghost Ranch office. The ranch is owned by the Presbyterian
Church, and the staff will supply you with a primitive map for the
Kitchen
Mesa
and
Chimney Rock
hikes. If you hike there, be sure to check in at the
front desk, which is open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 5pm. For more
information, contact
Ghost Ranch,
401 Old Taos Hwy., Santa Fe (
&
505/685-
4333;
www.ghostranch.org).
7
never made a treaty with any foreign country, including the United States. Thus, they
observe a traditional form of tribal council government. A few of the original mud-and-
stone houses still stand, as does a lovely church. A striking aboveground ceremonial kiva
called “the Roundhouse,” built at least 700 years ago, and some historic excavated kivas
