Georgia O'Keeffe's relationship with New Mexico, which would later become part of her artistic identity, was ignited by a brief visit to the state with her sister in 1917 and deepened through her interactions with her friends in the 1920s, including Paul Strand, Rebecca Salsbury James, Paul Rosenfeld, and Dorothy Brett, all of whom shared vivid accounts of their experiences in the region, piquing O'Keeffe's curiosity.

It was not until 1929 that she accepted an invitation from Mabel Dodge Luhan, a key figure in the Taos art colony.

[2] The region's southwestern Pueblo architecture, cultural motifs, and stark natural beauty unique to the geography of New Mexico found profound expression in her work.

[9] General Mills purchased the work for their employee art collection in 1958 from the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village, New York City.

[11] In early 2023, Valparaiso University, led by president José Padilla, announced plans to sell three significant paintings, including Georgia O'Keeffe's Rust Red Hills, to fund dormitory renovations amidst financial struggles and declining enrollment.

[13] With the museum closed, Rust Red Hills is currently secured in an off-site storage area as of September 2024.

Here, O'Keeffe signed her initials within a star, a symbol she used to mark a selected painting she personally preferred as special and well liked.

[8] Several decades later, the painting appeared in a 1953 exhibition tour at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Mayo Hill Galleries in Florida.