Marsha Mason, the four-time Oscar-nominated actress and longtime New Mexico resident, is trying to sell her 247-acre estate and ranch in Abiquiú for just under $8 million.

This is the second time Mason has tried to sell the property, where she also operates a certified-organic farm, Resting in the River. Mason told the Associated Press in September 2007 that she had the estate on the market for $11 million.

"I'm selling the farm because I am now in another life transition," Mason, 66, said in a statement issued recently by Christie's Great Estates.

According to the statement, Mason is returning to New York where she will star in Michael Jacobs' play Impressionism on Broadway alongside Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. The play opens in March.

Mason has owned the Northern New Mexico property — which she purchased after being turned on to the area by Shirley MacLaine, who also owns Abiquiú property — for about 15 years.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mason bought the land raw for $1.5 million and has said she spent about $10 million on the property.

Mason's compound includes a main house with a master suite and two guest bedrooms. A two-story art studio and a two-bedroom guesthouse also are on the property, which is located along the Chama River.

At the farm, Mason grew a variety of organic herbs from which she developed wellness and body and bath products. Because of Mason's efforts in organic farming, Gov. Bill Richardson appointed her to chair the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission, which certifies organic farms.

Christie's representatives didn't know what would happen to Mason's line of organic products if she finds a buyer for the real estate or whether she would continue to maintain a home in New Mexico.

Mason told The Associated Press last year that she wanted to keep a home in New Mexico, probably closer to Santa Fe, and planned to keep the product line.

Mason, whose marriage to playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon ended in 1981, was nominated for four Academy Awards including for Best Actress in Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two and Only When I Laugh. She won an Emmy Award and two Golden Globes for her work on the television series, Frasier.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.