by Matthew Jaffe, senior writer, Sunset

I’m New Mexico-bound in a couple weeks and as much as I’m looking forward to hiking and hot springs, my big can’t-miss on this trip is the exhibit Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities. The show at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum will explore the creative bonds between these artists and includes nearly 100 of their works.

In a world where Miley Cyrus is anointed as an icon, that term has been overused to the point of meaninglessness. Still, it’s hard to find another word to describe O’Keeffe and Adams, two of the 20th century’s most significant American artists and part of a group of individuals who, in combination with the state’s Native American and Spanish Colonial traditions, helped make New Mexico an international center for art. If you need any proof, consider that Santa Fe is one of only nine world communities (and the only one in the U.S.) to be designated a UNESCO Creative City.

I’ve often felt my deepest connection with the world of Adams, O’Keeffe, and the other artists who ventured to New Mexico when I’m in Taos. There’s the San Francisco de Asis Church, a building painted by O’Keeffe and photographed by Adams. It epitomizes the kind of inspiration that New Mexico offered these artists as they turned this simple 18th century church into an icon (there’s that word again) of modern art. And for visitors, whether armed with a digital point-and-shoot or a large format camera, it’s almost impossible not to give it a go. With apologies to Ansel and the photo gods, here’s my very own quickie:

On my most recent trip to Taos, I also stopped in at Los Gallos, the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Luhan, a writer and artist and a woman once described as “a reposeful hurricane” came to New Mexico in 1917 and eventually married Tony Luhan of Taos Pueblo. They built a Pueblo Revival home and compound that became the center of creative life in Taos, as a steady stream of artists and other visionaries came to immerse themselves in the exotic and alien world of New Mexico.

O’Keeffe arrived here in 1929 with her husband, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. For O’Keeffe, the time in Taos was critical to her artistic development and ultimately her deep creative relationship with the New Mexico landscape. Adams, too, stayed at the house in 1929, during which time he collaborated with writer Mary Austin on his book about Taos Pueblo. Taos so inspired Ansel Adams that it was the place where he said he finally committed his life to photography, after declaring, “This is the most completely beautiful place I have ever seen.”

The Luhan House is remarkably unchanged since its heyday. The latillas in the dining room are still painted like an Indian blanket in reds and blacks and the 200-year-old gates, originally part of the balcony at San Francisco de Asis Church remain.

You can also see windows that novelist D.H. Lawrence painted during his stay.

For all its renown, both from Luhan’s day and in the 1970s when Dennis Hopper owned the property (he dubbed it "The Mud Palace" and the house became a major counterculture haven) this place gets surprisingly little publicity. For an outstanding book on the house’s history, definitely check out Utopian Vistas: The Mabel Dodge Luhan House and the American Counterculture by Lois Palken Rudnick.

Coming here and taking a tour is a much more personal experience than the one you get at a lot of cultural landmarks. These days the house is used primarily as a conference center, with photography, writing, and yoga workshops, but it also operates as an inn, including stays in Mabel’s old bedroom.

Just in case you’re looking for a little creative inspiration.