Margaret Herrera Chávez (1912–1992) was an American painter and printmaker. Born in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, Chávez was the daughter of ranchers, and grew up in Gascon, in Mora County. She was one of the know handful of documented New Mexican artist, working locally from the 1950's through the 1960's. Open to experiment with her art, she worked with an abundant amount of media such as prints, watercolors, oils, ceramics, textiles and sculpture. Through the usage of her fluid line work and use of vibrant colors, she captured the reality and fantasy of the urban and rural landscapes of New Mexico. Worked as an elementary schoolteacher and for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

, and sometimes exhibited her work under the name Mrs. Paul Chávez. She won multiple prizes for her work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts during her life and was one of only two female artists featured in

Jacinto Quirarte Jacinto Quirarte (August 17, 1931 - July 20, 2012) was an art historian, professor, scholar and writer who was instrumental in documenting and promoting Latino (demonym), Latino and Chicano art in the United States. Quirarte was an "expert in Pre ...

's book, ''Mexican American Artist''s. Her works are in the permanent collections of the

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located one bloc ...

Museum of International Folk Art The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. History The museum was founded by Flor ...

and

Highlands University New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU or Highlands) is a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1893, it has satellite campuses in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Farmington and Roswell. NMHU has an average a ...

Style and work

Chávez was a self-taught artist who painted primarily in watercolor and oils, and also practiced printmaking. She later completed formal training at

, Las Vegas; The

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, Albuquerque; and the Instituto San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Chávez taught in the Albuquerque Public School system while working on her own art. Working in Albuquerque at this time "meant that she was part of the avant-garde that shifted away from the art colonies of the north nowiki/>Santa Fe art colony and Taos art colony">Santa_Fe_art_colony.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Santa Fe art colony">nowiki/>Santa Fe art colony and Taos art colony] and engaged with the art scene in Albuquerque" where artists such as Raymond Jonson, Raymond Johnson, Richard Diebenkorn, John Taschl, and Kenneth Miller Adams were located. The landscape of northern New Mexico where she grew up provided inspiration for much of her work, which consisted primarily of broad views of landscapes painted in light colors. Her affiliation with the Works Progress Administration and New Deal art projects also influenced her style.

Activism

Chávez promoted the work of New Mexican women artists through her membership in the

National League of American Pen Women The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. (NLAPW) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization for women. History The first meeting of the League of American Pen Women was organized in 1897 by Marian Longfellow O'Donoghue, a wri ...

(NLAPW), during which she served as president of the Albuquerque branch and chair of the New Mexico State Art Committee. She also belonged to the Hispanic Cultural Society, New Mexico Education Association, and the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college st ...

References

1912 births 1992 deaths American women printmakers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American printmakers 20th-century American women painters People from Las Vegas, New Mexico People from Mora County, New Mexico Painters from New Mexico Works Progress Administration in New Mexico Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts American artists of Mexican descent {{US-painter-1910s-stub