Provenance:

Private Collection, Minnesota, until 2025.

This engaging drawing is an over life-size profile portrait of Anna Martinez (1885–1955), who, along with her younger sister Martia Martinez, was among the most significant blackware pottery artists active in New Mexico in the early 20th century. This drawing, made ca. 1920, depicts Anna during the height of her activity. An early maker of black-on-black as well as polychrome pottery, Anna was especially known for her painted designs.

In the present drawing, the artist has carefully observed Anna’s facial features and jet-black hair, including the tie at the back of her head. The careful lines and shading with charcoal create volume and lend the drawing a naturalistic feel. By contrast, sharp, quickly-applied lines are used to delineate the contour of the sitter’s bust—only a necklace and scarf that hang around her neck are described.

The author of this drawing, Antoinette DeForest Parsons Merwin, is primarily known as a painter of genre, landscapes, and still-life scenes. Following her studies at the Art Students League in New York and the St. Paul School of Fine Arts in Minnesota, Antoinette spent a period in Paris studying with Gustave Courtois, Raphaël Collin, and James McNeill Whistler. One of her works received an honorable mention at the Paris Salon of 1900. Our charcoal drawing is a rare example of her artistic output, highlighting both her talents as a draughtswoman and a portraitist.