Maria Martinez

Pueblo potter who revolutionized Native American ceramics through black-on-black pottery

Maria Montoya Martinez (1887–1980), a Tewa artist from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, transformed Indigenous pottery into globally celebrated art. Collaborating with husband Julian Martinez, she revived ancient techniques to create the iconic black-on-black pottery in the 1910s. By controlling oxygen levels during firing, they achieved unprecedented matte and glossy black contrasts.

Her work defied stereotypes of Native crafts as primitive. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Smithsonian collected her pieces, while her 1934 Chicago World's Fair exhibit challenged cultural erasure. Martinez intentionally shared techniques with Pueblo communities, creating economic resilience during the Great Depression. Today, her Signature Pottery sells for over $100,000, and she received the inaugural New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts (1974).