Maria Martinez

External videos
External videos
	Maria Martinez Indian Pottery of San Ildefonso Pueblo, documentary video, 1972.

Maria Montoya Martinez
Maria Montoya Martinez;
Po've'ka
	Martinez c. 1925
Born	Maria Poveka Montoya; ca. 1887; San Ildefonso Pueblo, Territory of New Mexico
Died	1980 (aged 92-93); San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico
Nationality	San Ildefonso Pueblo, American
Known for	Pottery, Ceramics
Movement	San Ildefonso School
Spouse	Julian Martinez

Maria Poveka Montoya Martinez (c. 1887 – July 20, 1980) was a Puebloan artist who created internationally known pottery.^[1]^[2] Martinez (born Maria Poveka Montoya), her husband Julian, and other family members, including her son Popovi Da, examined traditional Pueblo pottery styles and techniques to create pieces which reflect the Pueblo people's legacy of fine artwork and crafts. The works of Maria Martinez, and especially her black ware pottery, are in the collections of many museums, including the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, and more. The Penn Museum in Philadelphia holds eight vessels – three plates and five jars – signed either "Marie" or "Marie & Julian".^[3]

Maria Martinez was from the San Ildefonso Pueblo, a community located 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. At an early age, she learned pottery skills from her aunt^[4] and recalls this "learning by seeing" starting at age eleven, as she watched her aunt, grandmother, and father's cousin work on their pottery during the 1890s.^[5] During this time, Spanish tinware and Anglo enamelware had become readily available in the Southwestern United States, making the creation of traditional cooking and serving pots less necessary.^[6] Traditional pottery-making techniques were becoming less common, but Martinez and her family experimented with different techniques and helped preserve the cultural art.^[1]^: 62–63

^ ^a ^b Peterson, Susan (1997). Pottery by American Indian women : the legacy of generations. National Museum of Women in the Arts (U.S.), Heard Museum. (1st ed.). New York: Abbeville Press. pp. 62–68. ISBN 0-7892-0353-7. OCLC 36648903.
^ Sando, Joe S. (1998). PUEBLO NATIONS: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History (2nd ed.). Santa Fe, New Mexico: Clear Light Publishers. p. 176 of 297. ISBN 0-940666-17-0.
^ "Penn Museum Online Collections Catalog". Penn Museum. March 26, 2020.
^ Getlein, Mark (2010). Living with Art. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 262–263.
^ Kirkham, Pat, ed. (2000). Women designers in the USA, 1900-2000 : diversity and difference. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0300093314. OCLC 45486311.
^ Sublette, J. Mark. "Maria Martinez and San Ildefonso Pottery". Medicine Man Gallery. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

[Peterson1997-1] Peterson, Susan (1997). Pottery by American Indian women : the legacy of generations. National Museum of Women in the Arts (U.S.), Heard Museum. (1st ed.). New York: Abbeville Press. pp. 62–68. ISBN 0-7892-0353-7. OCLC 36648903.

[2] Sando, Joe S. (1998). PUEBLO NATIONS: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History (2nd ed.). Santa Fe, New Mexico: Clear Light Publishers. p. 176 of 297. ISBN 0-940666-17-0.

[3] "Penn Museum Online Collections Catalog". Penn Museum. March 26, 2020.

[4] Getlein, Mark (2010). Living with Art. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 262–263.

[Kirkham-5] Kirkham, Pat, ed. (2000). Women designers in the USA, 1900-2000 : diversity and difference. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0300093314. OCLC 45486311.

[6] Sublette, J. Mark. "Maria Martinez and San Ildefonso Pottery". Medicine Man Gallery. Archived from the original on April 7, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

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