Ghost Ranch

by Lesley Poling-Kempes

Book Overview

For more than a century , Ghost Ranch has attracted people of enormous energy and creativity to the high desert of northern New Mexico. Occupying twenty-two thousand acres of the Piedra Lumbre basin, this fabled place was the love of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's life, and her depictions of the landscape catapulted Ghost Ranch to international recognition. Building on the history of the Abiquiu region that she told in Valley of Shining Stone, Ghost Ranch...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816523479
• ISBN13: 9780816523474
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A well told tale of a very special place

The author has explored the colorful history of Ghost Ranch, which goes from cattle rustlers to the Manhattan Project to Georgia O'Keeffee to paleontology with graceful prose. The story is worth reading to recognize how much has happened in this one small corner of northern New Mexico. Fascinating for anyone who appreciates Georgia O'Keeffee or Ghost Ranch. For those who do not know about either, its a great introduction.

For any who would understand artist O'Keeffe or N. New Mexican art

For over a century Ghost Ranch has attracted creative people to the high desert of northern New Mexico: it was the beloved place of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's life, and her portraits of Ghost Ranch lent it international acclaim. Historian Lesley Poling-Kempes here tells the history of Ghost Ranch, from its origins as a hideout for outlaws to a cultural mecca. Hers is a history packed with regional history, art insights, and more, and is a recommended pick for any who would understand the life and art of O'Keeffe and the influence of northern New Mexico on her art.

From the Faraway Nearby

Leslie Poling-Kempes has studied New Mexico's Ghost Ranch at close range for many years and, indeed, covered the prehistory of Abiquiu and the Piedra Lumbre basin--a prominent part of which Ghost Ranch occupies--in her book, "Valley of Shining Stone". That is a very big story, one that stretches from the Triassic/Jurassic 'dinosaur' periods to the pre-Columbian times of the pueblo dwellers from the 1200s, into the Spanish Colonial era. In "Ghost Ranch", Poling-Kempes narrows her focus to that remarkable 20,000 acre property, covering just the last 125 years or so. She tells the stories of modern folks who claimed the breathtakingly beautiful and dramatic high desert environment anchored by Georgia O'Keeffe's flat-topped mountain, Cerro Pedernal. And it is by no means a small story! Connections to prominent families and fortunes, major fossil finds, the development of the atomic bomb and episodes of civil insurrection are woven into the history of the place, and the reader will easily recognize many significant names. Of course, when views of the land itself are so awe-inspiring, celebrity must be merely anecdotal and Poling-Kempes maintains a judicious balance. She allows space in the narrative for those whose contributions to Ghost Ranch were essential, if unsung, and you probably will not recognize their names. "Ghost Ranch" is a well-written and meticulously researched book that maintains the reader's interest throughout. If you have ever been to Ghost Ranch, you will treasure this book. If you haven't been there, the book's introduction alone should give you an aching sense of what you're missing.

A remarkable story of a special place

This is the definitive story of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's inspiration for her internationally renowned landscapes. Ghost Ranch is located on twenty-two thousand acres in the Piedra Lumbre basin of the high desert of northern New Mexico. Now owned by the Presbyterian Church, it has been the source of awe, inspiration, and spiritual renewal for thousands of visitors including the Rockefellers, Cary Grant, Robert Wood Johnson, and a virtual who's who of the artistic, business, and literary world. It is now recognized as one of the Southwest's premier conference centers as well as a cultural mecca. A remarkable story of a special place.