Georgia O’Keeffe Behind Logo of Tucson Icon
Logo for Ghost Ranch Lodge & Restaurant inspired and designed by famed artist Georgia O’Keeffe.
TUCSON — The great artist Georgia O’Keeffe probably wouldn’t have liked the way it turned out, but her onetime act of kindness resulted in one of her artworks becoming a logo for a motel. Her rendering of a white cow skull on a black background hangs on two signs at the Ghost Ranch Lodge at 801 E. Miracle Mile Road. O’Keeffe created the work in 1936 and give it — and the right to use it in any fashion — to Arthur Park as a wedding gift.
Park owned the Ghost Ranch north of Santa Fe, N.M., and O’Keeffe lived there for a while. When the Parks moved to Tucson and opened a motel in the 1960s, they incorporated the skull into their new Ghost Ranch logo. The lodge changed hands, but the sign stayed, even when the facility was converted into a retirement residence in 2006.
My family stayed at the Ghost Ranch Lodge and had breakfast in the restaurant, in the late 1960s. I remember it as a peaceful place to stay, away from traffic noise, with walkways winding through cactus gardens. The staff was attentive. I never had the opportunity to return, but I think I still have the brochure I picked up at the front desk. Thanks for the nice reminder, Sam.