Maria Martinez grew in popularity during the 1920s largely due to Edgar Lee Hewett,
who’s influence originally led to Martinez and her husband Julian developing their
famous black pottery technique. Hewett spent much of his career promoting the
American Southwest, including selling Martinez’s work, providing her with materials,
and taking her to World’s Fairs where she demonstrated making pottery.
Another influential figure in Martinez’s rise to popularity was Alice Marriott, a writer
and member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, who’s book Maria: the Potter of San
Ildefonso played a major part in promoting Native art to Anglo-Americans without
portraying Native Americans as an amusing spectacle or tourist destination.
Left: “Maria: The Potter of San Ildefonso” by Alice Marriott
Right: “Maria” by Richard L. Spivey
In addition to Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, Alice Marriott, who was a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, played a major part in promoting Martinez’s work to the Anglo-American world.
Similar to other New Deal projects and programs during the 30s, The Indian Arts and Crafts Board was established in 1935 to preserve cultural heritage by facilitating the exposure of native works, and expand the market for them. These influences were paramount in portraying Martinez’s and other native works as serious pieces of art, which still sell for thousands of dollars, rather than just tourist items. Marriott’s book was praised in an article for the Los Angeles Times (Halladay, 1948) for its warm and persuasive style, especially in regards to the cultural respect that it gave in recounting the Pueblo traditions in Martinez’s wedding with Julian.
Martinez was invited to visit the White House four times, and she also received
honorary doctorates from the University of Colorado and New Mexico State
University. In 1948, Martinez’s son Popovi Da opened the Popovi Da Studio of Indian
Art at San Ildefonso Pueblo to display his mother’s work and promote other Indian art. Maria and Julian Martinez received the Best in Show award at the 1933-1934 Century of Progress Exhibition (also known as the Chicagos World’s Fair) at the Grand Central Galleries in New York City.
A 1930 article for The Christian Science Monitor outlines the process by which Martinez created these pieces, describing her as “astonishing” in the ease and steadiness with which she free-hand traces her narrow, even designs on these difficulty curved surfaces. Another piece, written in 1978 for The Atlanta Constitution, describes the work of Martinez and Julian as standing “head and shoulders above the rest” of contemporary pottery (Mebane, 1978). In 1978 an exhibit of Martinez’s pottery and works from other members of her family opened at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery titled “Maria Martinez: Five Generations of Potters” which included 115 pots, water jars, bowls, and plates showcasing the talents of Maria herself, those who taught her, and those who she in turn taught (Mebane, 1978).
Martinez’s unparalleled work brought her brought her widespread popularity. In a New York Times obituary for the artist, friend and local art gallery owner Forrest Fern made the following comment:
Like Georgia O’Keeffe, she was one of the most revered women artists in America. She made the American people aware of Indians and their culture, in 1910 John D. Rockefeller bought the first nine black pots she ever did. (New York Times, 1980)
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Works Referenced
B, R L. “Women Potters of Ildefonso.” The Christian Science Monitor, December 13, 1930, p. 12. ProQuest.
Conroy, Sarah B. “An American Potter Hands Down Her Art.” The Washington Post, 9 Apr. 1978 Accessed 15 Nov. 2018.
Halladay, Ida. “Indians’ Art Revival Put Into Story.” Los Angeles Times, July 11, 1948, p. C5. ProQuest.
Marriott, Alice. Maria: The Potter of San Ildefonso. N.p.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1948.
This book by Alice Marriott is a biography of major events in the life of Maria Martinez, detailing stories, such as the discovery of the black-on-black pottery technique, in the context of Martinez’s Pueblo culture, but with the purpose of making it receptive to an Anglo-American audience. In my opinion, this is a strong piece because of the passive role that the interviewer takes. Marriott gathered the material for this book through almost daily, private interviews with Martinez where she allowed the potter to follow her own stream of consciousness without probative or leading questions, giving the book a story-telling feel and an unadulterated point of view. The cultural focus and first-person reliability have made this work a common reference for many people writing about Martinez.
Mebane, John. “Martinez Pottery Best of All.” The Atlanta Constitution, July 23, 1978, p. 3E. ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
Swanson, Katherine. “Maria Martinez: A Case Study In Artistic Biography And An Examination Of Anglo-American And American Indian Relations.” Southern Connecticut State University, May 2011.
Wood, Matt. “Maria Martinez: World-Renowned Potter of San Ildefonso Pueblo.” MariaMartinezPottery.com. Accessed 15 Nov. 2018.
“Maria Povera Martinez, Potter, 94.” New York Times, July 22, 1980. ProQuest (NYT Page B8).
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