Pete Martinez was an American cowboy artist who specialized in drawing, printmaking, and watercolor.
23 Facts About Pete Martinez
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Pete Martinez is best known for his illustration and prints of Arizona desert landscapes and images of cowboy life.
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Pete Martinez was raised in the area adjoining Deer Creek where his father worked as a cowboy and rancher.
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When his father was bitten by a rattlesnake and died Pete began supporting his family at the age of twelve.
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Pete Martinez rode herd for some major outfits including the Santa Rita Ranch of Los Banos, California, owned by the famed cattle kings Miller and Lux.
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Pete Martinez served as top rider for Mrs George Coffee on her mountain Ranch in the Greenhorn Mountains in Kern County, California.
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Pete Martinez earned extra money riding these horses at the county fair.
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Pete Martinez developed into a superb roper a skill that would transform him into rodeo star.
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At an early age Pete Martinez began to draw the ranch experiences.
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Pete Martinez was encouraged by his fellow cowhands, who recognized the tactile authenticity of his drawings.
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Pete Martinez entered the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, later called the California School of Fine Arts.
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For three years Pete Martinez studied art in the winter and rode the ranges of Nevada in the Summer.
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Pete Martinez started as a string rider and in two years rose to foreman.
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Pete Martinez moved to Philadelphia to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where he developed his skill as an etcher, winning an award from the Graphic Sketch Club of Philadelphia.
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Pete Martinez studied at the Art Student League in New York, where he kept a studio in the Woolworth Building.
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Pete Martinez enrolled in the Arts Students League in New York maintaining a studio in the Woolworth Building.
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Pete Martinez became a top performer in the eastern circuit.
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In 1932 on the Southwestern Rodeo circuit, Pete Martinez performed in the Fiesta del los Vaqueros in Tucson.
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Pete Martinez met Victoria Kellner and the two married.
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Pete Martinez's art captures the raw roughness of the wild range.
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Pete Martinez painted a mural on the walls of the Hotel Congress bar Tap Room.
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Pete Martinez died in Tucson on August 30,1971, but his work continues to provide color and definition the Tucson and the West.
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Pete Martinez was an artist who worked primarily in illustration and painting.