Art, Fletcher Martin

Fletcher Martin (1904-1979)

He was born in 1904 in Palisade, Colorado, a small western town where his father ran the local newspaper. Martin grew up in a family that moved to towns throughout the West.  He showed an early interest in art, primarily from circus posters and amateur painters.

 At age 12, he began working as a printer and only later did he start to paint. He was known mostly for his painting of western subjects but has also  worked as a muralist and illustrator.  His artist's skills were largely self-taught. During his career he taught art at the University of Florida, State University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, San Antonio Art Institute, and Washington State University.
 He served as a war correspondent for Life magazine during World War II. He was the recipient of the Walter Lippencott Prize in 1947 and the Benjamin Altman Prize in 1949.
His works can be found in the collections of Abbott Laboratories, Brandice University, the Cranbrook Institute, the Denver Art Museum, and the Library of Congress.

Sealing the Crevice
Watercolor on paper

Sealing a fault in the granite wall of the forebay reservoir for the Grand Coulee Third
 powerplant, Columbia Basin Project.

The Columbia Basin Project is a major water resource development in central Washington State with Grand Coulee Dam as the project's primary feature. The power plant at Grand Coulee supplies much of the power needed by the Pacific Northwest. The generators of the third powerhouse alone provide sufficient electricity to meet the needs of both Seattle and Portland.

Inside the Turbine

Oil on canvas, 30" x 42"

Workmen inside the turbine scroll case, Grand Coulee Power Plant, Columbia Basin Project, Washington.

The Columbia Basin Project is a major water resource development in central Washington State with Grand Coulee Dam as the project's primary feature. The power plant at Grand Coulee supplies much of the power needed by the Pacific Northwest. The generators of the third powerhouse alone provide sufficient electricity to meet the needs of both Seattle and Portland.

Pyramid Lake

Watercolor, 22" x 28"
Rocks at Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Pyramid Lake is the terminus for the Truckee River which begins high in the Sierra Nevada at Lake Tahoe. Water from the Truckee and Carson Rivers is used to irrigate lands on the Newlands Project in the vicinity of Fallon, Nevada. The Newlands Project was originally known as the Truckee-Carson Project at was the first project authorized for construction by the then United States Reclamation Service, now the Bureau of Reclamation. The project was renamed the Newlands Project in honor of Francis Newlands, the author of the 1902 Reclamation Act and a staunch supporter of western reclamation.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on May 24, '09 Another 'new' American artist for me. That painting of the bullfighter is as nice as any of the posters that I've seen advertising bullfights.

delete reply starfishred wrote on May 24, '09 very nice loretta

delete reply dianahopeless wrote on May 24, '09 You are educating me in art appreciation Loretta. I had never heard of this artist. I especially love his use of softness when he does the women. He uses a voluptuousness in painting them, making them seem more real. And the colorful simplicity he uses painting children is wonderful. As is the unique way he portrays men.

delete reply luluone wrote on May 23, '09 great paintings!

delete reply veryfrank wrote on May 23, '09 I can see what you mean. I find much of the work reminds me of poster art and I don't mean that in an unkind way at all. I especially like 'Sealing the Crevice', then I have always been drawn to watercolors.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 23, '09 acousticeagle said It's interesting that he used images of children in a deceptively simple I've been reading about him and it seems he treats subjects differently according to their gender.........pictures showing men generally are harsher with more defined colour changes and sharp toneal differences, women tend to be softer and lighter and children are altogether more playful. In some ways he sems to going back to the victorian concept of the beautiful and the sublime..........the feminine and the masculine, hard /soft, light/dark................if you see what I mean.

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on May 23, '09 Is this artist's style defined in the 'naive' category, Loretta? I think that artists that are self taught and produce images that show a certain linear simplicity are of the 'naive' painters. It's interesting that he used images of children in a deceptively simple way yet there's a lot of texture and interest in the placement of the figures. Very colourful too. I have often thought that artists that use colour well have the best enjoyment when they paint.