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Abiquiu is a tiny town in northern New Mexico, not too far from Santa Fe and Los Alamos. It was made famous by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) and is the location of Ghost Ranch, which is covered in another entry.
History
Abiquiu was settled in 1724 by Tewa Pueblo families and a Catholic priest, Francisco Delgado. At that time, it was on the northern border of the Spanish settlements in New Mexico. The settlers were subject to raids by other Native American tribes, such as the Comanche, Navajo, and Apache, causing the settlement to suffer.
In 1754, New Mexico governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín gave land grants to 34 Genízaro (detribalized Native Americans) families in order to revive and defend the Abiquiu settlement. The current residents are descendants of these families.
Georgia O’Keeffe Home and Studio
Our main goal was to visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Home and Studio, but we made the mistake of not reserving our tour in advance. I guess it’s a good reason to go back and visit another day.
Tickets are US$60 per person (as of March 2024) and tours are available from March through November. The home is managed by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.
Abiquiu
Instead of spending the morning seeing the house, we made a quick stop in the center of Abiquiu where we spotted the adobe St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church (Santo Tomás el Apostol).
We also saw a few other buildings but the town was completely silent. The John Bosshard Gallery, selling tribal and traditional arts, was closed.
