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Pete (Peter Paul) Martinez

Pete (Peter Paul) Martinez (1894 - 1971) was active/lived in Arizona, Pennsylvania, California.  Pete Martinez is known for Cowboy genre and horse painting, etching.

Peter Paul Martinez was born in Porterville, CA in 1894.  Pete Martinez studied in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  He worked as a jockey, cowboy, and served in the cavalry in WWI.  After working as a riding instructor in Pennsylvania for 23 years, he opened a riding stable and art studio in Tucson, AZ in 1935 and lived there until his death on Aug. 30, 1971.  He was a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Ass'n, Pima County Sherrif's Posse, and active in local rodeos and roping contests.  His oeuvre includes watercolors, oils, etchings, and drawings of western subjects. 

Exh:  San Francisco Art Association, 1924; Santa Cruz Art League, 1941.

Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
The Cowboy in Art (Ainsworth); Tucson Museum; Artists of the American West (Samuels); Artists of the American West (Doris Dawby).

Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here.   ...  [Displaying 1261 of 3310 characters.]  Artist bio

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Facts about Pete (Peter Paul) Martinez

   Pete (Peter Paul) Martinez  Born:  1894 - Porterville, California
Died:   1971 - Tucson, Arizona
Known for:  Cowboy genre and horse painting, etching

Biography from the Archives of askART

Peter Paul Martinez was born in Porterville, CA in 1894.  Pete Martinez studied in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  He worked as a jockey, cowboy, and served in the cavalry in WWI.  After working as a riding instructor in Pennsylvania for 23 years, he opened a riding stable and art studio in Tucson, AZ in 1935 and lived there until his death on Aug. 30, 1971.  He was a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Ass'n, Pima County Sherrif's Posse, and active in local rodeos and roping contests.  His oeuvre includes watercolors, oils, etchings, and drawings of western subjects. 

Exh:  San Francisco Art Association, 1924; Santa Cruz Art League, 1941.

Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
The Cowboy in Art (Ainsworth); Tucson Museum; Artists of the American West (Samuels); Artists of the American West (Doris Dawby).

Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here.


Biography from the Archives of askART

A painter and etcher known for western subjects, especially horses, he was born in Porterville, California. He studied art in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Art and then in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.

He worked as a jockey and cowboy and was in the horse cavalry in World War I. He worked as a riding instructor in Pennsylvania for twenty-three years and in 1935, opened a riding stable and art studio in Tucson, Arizona where he lived until his death.

He was a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, the Pima County Sheriffs Posse, and a rider in local rodeos and roping contests.

Source:
Peggy and Harold Samuels, The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West


Biography from Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery

Pete Martinez was born on a ranch near Deer Creek in the area of Porterville, California. He studied art at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in Philadelphia. He became best known for his paintings and sketches of cowboy life, which he lived first hand.

During his life he wore many hats, but most had to do with horses in some fashion. Martinez was in World War I in the horse cavalry. He was over time a jockey, a cowboy and a riding instructor for twenty-three years in Pennsylvania. In 1935 he moved to Tucson, Arizona and opened a riding stable and art studio, where he lived until his death in 1971. Incidentally, he was a neighbor and friend of Maynard Dixon and his circle of artists and friends also included Ted DeGrazia, Thomas Hart Benton, Olaf Wieghorst, Jack Van Ryder and Ross Santee.
Pete Martinez Cattle and Ranch Ink on Paper drawing

He often painted or sketched Tucson Rodeo scenes as well as competing in the riding and roping contests. He was a member of the Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Pima County Sheriff's Posse.

Over the years, Martinez made numerous trips east to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to sell his paintings. It is said that he "held court" in the Tap Room at the Tucson Hotel Congress bar during the 1930s and 40s often drinking with Lee Marvin. His paintings still hang in their bar to this day.

Bibliography
1. Davenport's Art Reference by Ray Davenport
2. Artists in California: 1786-1940 by Edan Milton Hughes
3. Artists of the American West by Doris Dawdy
4. Alexandria Thompson (Martinez family member)


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