Maria Martinez (1887-1980) was a potter from the Native American San Ildefonso Pueblo, where she was born, lived and worked until her death at the age of 99. Though ceramic pots where quickly becoming extinct from daily life in her pueblo, Maria Martinez became one the most famous American Indian artist of the 20th Century from her work creating and exhibiting "Blackware" pottery.
With the help of both her benefactor, Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, (then director of the Museum of New Mexico) and her husband (responsible for decorating the pots she created), they demonstrated their technique at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904, The San Diego World's Fair of 1915, received Best of Show at the Century of Progress, Chicago World's Fair in 1933 and also the San Francisco World's Fair in 1939. They are most well known for the black on black wares.
Maria Martinez and Popovi Da (San Ildefonso Pueblo), Plate with Avanyu Design, c. 1960, Courtesy of Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. R.E. Mansfield, 2003
The iron-rich clay Maria and her husband, Julian used allowed for color change, depending on how it was fired. After her husband’s death in 1943, she continued to work with other members of her family, establishing several generations of artisans and the assurance that her work and technique will continue to flourish. Though she had no formal education, Maria received two honorary doctorates and has had a major exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute’s Renwick Gallery. Her work can be found in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
