Margaret Putnam

"The Girls" Batik

Circa 1960s

Margaret Putnam was a San Antonio artist who left an artistic legacy rare even in the art world. She was a 20th-century woman with a Renaissance soul who lavished her work with brilliant color, always breaking and making the rules to achieve the desired effect. An explorer, Putnam was self-taught. She worked in oil, watercolor, wax resist, casein and pastel, exploring new avenues, developing new techniques, combining mediums and creating a unique style. She had a background in fashion illustration as well. Even after becoming partially paralyzed from Lou Gehrig's disease, she continued to work relentlessly. She had a little arts and crafts community in La Villita. She was a remarkable woman, a talented artist and in the real spirit of the Alamo, she represented true Texas grit. Her strokes were broad, her colors bold, her paintings powerful and expressive. She painted an 18-by-Seven and a half foot mural at the top of the San Antonio Hilton Hotel. She has won many awards such as River Art Show, San Antonio, Beaumont Museum, Texas Fine Arts Museum and Texas Watercolor Society. She has also won the Old Testament National Exhibit Award, Award for ‘One of Ten Outstanding Women in San Antonio’, ‘Outstanding Artist of the Year’ from San Antonio Art League and J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award. She was also the three-time winner of Top Award for Oils from Texas Fine Arts and received Recipient of the Year award from the San Antonio Arts Commission. Revered for her innovative techniques and inimitable style before her death in 1989, her renown continues even today.