Presbyterians Won’t Buy O’Keeffe Land

After several rounds of negotiations, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) has opted not to buy a 12-acre parcel of land in New Mexico once owned by artist Georgia O’Keeffe and surrounded by the denomination’s Ghost Ranch retreat and conference center.

Under terms of an agreement reached Sept. 4, the denomination gave up its option to buy the property in exchange for $350,000 from the Burnett Foundation, a Texas-based organization interested in preserving O’Keeffe’s legacy in the Southwest.

Presbyterian News Service, the denomination’s news agency, said the negotiators also agreed to provide an easement for a road to the adobe O’Keeffe house.

For its part, the foundation agreed to restrict the use of the house to O’Keeffe scholars.

“We are pleased to have arrived at an agreement that protects the integrity of both the Georgia O’Keeffe property and our program at Ghost Ranch,” said John Detterick, executive director of the denomination’s General Assembly Committee.

The dispute was sparked when the Burnett Foundation offered Juan Hamilton, a companion of the late painter and current owner of the 12-acre O’Keeffe property, $3 million even though the church held first refusal rights.