Maria Martinez

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Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by J…
Maria Martinez
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by John Bentham. For educational purposes only.

Maria Martinez

San Ildefonso Pueblo, 1887 - 1980
BiographyMaria Martinez (born Maria Poveka Montoya) was born to the Tewa pueblo and learned the craft of ceramics from her aunt at an early age. The availability of Spanish tinware and Anglo enamelware had diminished the creation of traditional pots for utilitarian purposes. Martinez, along with first her husband, then her descendants, helped to preserve the art.
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