Georgia O’Keeffe legacy re-examined 40 years after her loss of life : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd6%2F26%2Faebc745c4af9802bcacf63f74a48%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-005.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd6%2F26%2Faebc745c4af9802bcacf63f74a48%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-005.jpg" class="img" alt="A view (looking east) of Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026." fetchpriority="high"/> A view (wanting east) of Ghost Ranch close to Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR ABIQUIU, NM – On a latest afternoon, fluffy clouds drift previous the solar, throwing mild, then shadow, throughout distant cliffs layered in yellow, ochre and sienna.

This starkly stunning, excessive desert of northern New Mexico is the place the artist Georgia O'Keeffe lived and painted the summary, color-drenched work of flowers, bones and landforms that introduced her worldwide acclaim as "the mom of American modernism."

Within the 40 years since her loss of life, the world got here to be referred to as O'Keeffe County.

At present, nonetheless, that identification is shifting - culturally and legally.

There's a transfer afoot, prompted by Pueblo Indians and Hispanos who've been on the land for hundreds of years, to cease calling it O'Keeffe Nation. Furthermore, a historic new conservation plan will defend that panorama — with its colourful cliffs and buttes — forevermore.

David Evans is the CEO of Ghost Ranch, greatest generally known as the house — and inspiration — of O'Keeffe. He stands on a bluff and scans the storied valley.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fac%2F3a%2F31dde8134caf8a3bfccbdb29a726%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-001.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fac%2F3a%2F31dde8134caf8a3bfccbdb29a726%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-001.jpg" class="img" alt="Ghost Ranch CEO David Evans photographed at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026." loading="lazy"/> Ghost Ranch CEO David Evans photographed at Ghost Ranch close to Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR "Georgia O'Keeffe beloved (this space) due to the identical causes everybody who visits loves it," he says, "the richness of the colours of the cliffs in opposition to the sky, the best way the sunshine performs on it, the best way the clouds transfer in. It is unimaginable."

Ghost Ranch is now a non secular and academic retreat heart simply over an hour's drive northwest of Santa Fe. The longtime proprietor of Ghost Ranch, Arthur Pack – a nationally outstanding conservationist – donated it in 1955 to the Presbyterian Church, whose nonprofit basis owns it at the moment.

O'Keeffe fell in love with Ghost Ranch nation when she first visited from New York within the Thirties. In an early letter to her well-known photographer husband, Alfred Stieglitz, she described the panorama as "Completely mad-looking nation, hills and cliffs and washes too loopy to think about, all thrown up within the air by God and let tumble the place they might."

In 1940, when Ghost Ranch was nonetheless a dude ranch, she bought an adobe home there, Casa de los Burros. She spent a lot of the remainder of her life portray the uncooked fantastic thing about her environment.

"There's one thing within the air, it is simply totally different, the sky is totally different, the celebrities are totally different, the wind is simply totally different," O'Keeffe mentioned in a mid-Seventies public tv documentary.

At 88, the legendary artist, wearing a black smock, was filmed strolling by way of the eroded sculptural options of the badlands, her face furrowed by age, her eyes nonetheless blazing. She died in Santa Fe on the age of 98.

"As quickly as I noticed it," she mentioned, "that was my nation."

Rewriting the narrative

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2Fc0%2F72b9a35f4c9a969119065a24613e%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-004.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2Fc0%2F72b9a35f4c9a969119065a24613e%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-004.jpg" class="img" alt="Artist Jason Garcia (Okuu Pin), of Santa Clara Pueblo (left), and Curator Bess Murphy, of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, photographed in the studio of Georgia O'Keeffe's home at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico on March 11, 2026." loading="lazy"/> Artist Jason Garcia (Okuu Pin), of Santa Clara Pueblo (left), and Curator Bess Murphy, of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, photographed within the studio of Georgia O'Keeffe's residence at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico on March 11, 2026. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR My nation.

That performed effectively amongst her legions of admirers, however not a lot in northern New Mexico among the many Tewa, the indigenous those that embrace the Pueblo Indians.

Her favourite topic was Cerro Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain that stands like a sentinel over this basin. She painted it 29 instances, and had her ashes scattered on the summit. In a single notorious quote, O'Keeffe mentioned, "It is my personal mountain. It belongs to me. God informed me if I painted it sufficient, I may have it."

Tewa artist Jason Garcia, of the Santa Clara Pueblo, chuckles on the assertion. He has additionally painted Pedernal, which Tewa take into account a sacred landmark whose native identify is Tsi-Pin, flaking stone mountain.

"It is fairly humorous to listen to that, to assume that one individual can say, 'If I paint this sufficient I can have it. God informed me,'" Garcia says. "But it surely's simply not simply hers. You have got Tewa those that have lived right here on the panorama, as effectively, since time immemorial."

Garcia is co-curator of a groundbreaking exhibition referred to as Tewa Nangeh on the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. Twelve Tewa artists reply, with their artwork, to O'Keeffe's aesthetic declare to their ancestral land.

"On the O'Keeffe Museum, for therefore lengthy the story of northern New Mexico has been informed solely by way of Georgia O'Keeffe's eyes," says Bess Murphy, co-curator of the exhibition and artwork curator on the museum. "And actually we have been hoping to create an area within the museum the place we are able to add complexity to that narrative."

The museum's official poster for the exhibition highlights that altering narrative. An indication says, "Welcome to O'Keeffe Nation" and "Tewa" has been scrawled throughout her identify. Murphy says the Tewa-and-O'Keeffe present has doubled the variety of native and native guests who go to the museum.

Jonathan Hayden, government director of the New Mexico Land Conservancy, which works carefully with Ghost Ranch, offers credit score to the museum "for actually forcing individuals to reckon with the erasure of indigenous views from 'O'Keeffe Nation.'"

Defending the land

The artist's legacy, however, stays an enormous draw for Ghost Ranch and the area. A yearly music pageant is held on the ranch, referred to as Blossoms and Bones, after her still-lifes. The ranch's basic emblem is an O'Keeffe drawing of a cow cranium. And simply down the street, guests can join a tour of O'Keeffe's second residence and studio within the village of Abiquiú.

Just like the museum, Ghost Ranch has additionally begun to re-frame its narrative.

"O'Keeffe Nation is just not a body that we use," says Evans. "This nation has a really wealthy historical past and she or he's an vital a part of it. But it surely's not solely her story by any means."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa4%2F5a%2F87de784d4e19b0d5488361b0da07%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-002.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa4%2F5a%2F87de784d4e19b0d5488361b0da07%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-002.jpg" class="img" alt="Ghost Ranch CEO David Evans photographed at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026." loading="lazy"/> Ghost Ranch CEO David Evans photographed at Ghost Ranch close to Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR In December, the ranch introduced a historic conservation settlement that can defend this pristine vacancy in perpetuity.

Within the first part—that covers 6,000 of the ranch's 21,000 complete acres—the New Mexico Land Conservancy can pay the church basis practically $1 million to protect the vista and by no means develop the land. Funding comes from the state's Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund. The association bans issues like ranchettes, cell-phone towers and Greenback Shops, whereas leaving intact the primary Ghost Ranch services—customer's heart, trails, lodging, stables, dinosaur museum and O'Keeffe's residence.

"That is really a once-in-a-generation alternative to guard one of many West's most iconic landscapes," says Hayden. "Acreage-wise it isn't the most important. However by way of its which means to individuals going again to indigenous cultures, to (Spanish) land grant heirs, and everybody impressed by the work of Georgia O'Keeffe, it is really a uncommon alternative."

Evans says defending the ranch's 30 sq. miles "is likely one of the most vital elements of Ghost Ranch's mission." However he provides, it is costly to take care of the huge property and guarantee an amazing visitor expertise.

"We have now over 100 buildings, 21,000 acres," he says. "So it is a robust enterprise mannequin. The income will actually assist to assist our working prices and to maintain this open for future generations."

Discovering a steadiness or The value of recognition

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F53%2F20%2Fddd38f5c42c59aa550ba40aeb8fa%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-010.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F53%2F20%2Fddd38f5c42c59aa550ba40aeb8fa%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-010.jpg" class="img" alt="Norman Vigil with his cattle at his ranch in Canjilon, New Mexico (just north of Ghost Ranch) on March 11, 2026. Vigil leases grazing rights from Ghost Ranch, and runs his cattle on Ghost Ranch for part of the year." loading="lazy"/> Norman Vigil along with his cattle at his ranch in Canjilon, New Mexico (simply north of Ghost Ranch) on March 11, 2026. Vigil leases grazing rights from Ghost Ranch, and runs his cattle on Ghost Ranch for a part of the 12 months. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR It is also cattle nation.

Norman Vigil runs 25 black Angus on Ghost Ranch pastureland. On a latest afternoon, he was out checking on his mama cows. "Hey, vacas!" he referred to as in Spanish, shaking a bucket of feed pellets.

The conservation plan continues the longstanding association that lets native cattlemen use ranch pastures for winter grazing. "It permits us to take care of our tradition, our historic use," Vigil says.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F03%2Ff5%2F9649f5ef48b29cc14b52db7de24b%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-008.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F03%2Ff5%2F9649f5ef48b29cc14b52db7de24b%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-008.jpg" class="img" alt="Cattle on Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026. A number of local ranchers lease grazing rights from Ghost Ranch." loading="lazy"/> Cattle on Ghost Ranch, close to Abiquiu, New Mexico, on March 11, 2026. Numerous native ranchers lease grazing rights from Ghost Ranch. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR He is a bit jaded in the case of the label "O'Keeffe Nation."

Whereas it has been good for realtors, Airbnbs, cafes, and present retailers, Vigil says for a lot of people within the area, like him, all it is executed is drive up residence costs.

"There's lots of people making a very good residing due to Georgia O'Keeffe, and so are you able to argue on the financial aspect for these people," he says. "However for us, actually the publicity hasn't been all that nice."

For years, the nonprofit Ghost Ranch has charged movie crews to make use of the beautiful panorama as a backdrop. Manufacturing corporations out right here have filmed every little thing from Chevy truck commercials to the film, "Oppenheimer."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7c%2F22%2Fcb64f9a24a53a94beffcd2c89b0a%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-007.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3377+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7c%2F22%2Fcb64f9a24a53a94beffcd2c89b0a%2Fbacrania-ghostranch-2026-03-11-007.jpg" class="img" alt="David Manazares photographed on the set of the movie Oppenheimer, located at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu NM, on March 11, 2026." loading="lazy"/> David Manazares photographed on the set of the film Oppenheimer, situated at Ghost Ranch close to Abiquiu NM, on March 11, 2026. Minesh Bacrania for NPR disguise caption

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Minesh Bacrania for NPR Tewa artist Garcia is aware of why they wish to be out right here.

"It is humorous when you consider the O'Keeffe quote …'There's one thing totally different about New Mexico.' She's proper. She's not mendacity," he says. "The mountains, the clouds, nightfall, daybreak, midnight. I imply, it is a gorgeous place. I would not commerce it for anyplace else."